The Ramp restaurant lost a beloved bartender earlier this year. Ricardo Perez died January 17, 2015. He was 42.
Born January 1, 1973 to Emilio Perez and Remedios Estevez in Mexico City, Perez left his homeland when he was 18 years old. He started working at The Ramp – located at 855 Terry Francois Boulevard – 24 years ago as a dishwasher, eventu-ally becoming a bartender at the neighborhood establishment.
Daly City resident Jaime Osorio remembered Perez as a smart person. He encouraged him to advance at the restaurant. Perez took the advice and worked his way up to bartender, learning from one of The Ramp’s first mix-masters, Walter. Perez staffed the outside bar mainly, a tropical hangout with parrots swinging from the ceiling of a sheet metal roof.
After Emely Torres started com-ing to The Ramp more than seven years ago she and Perez grew to be close friends. “He was very friendly to everyone,” she said. Introducing people was easy for him, and he remembered the great qualities of the people he introduced, she said. According to Torres, Perez was the type of person who helped a customer move into a new apartment.
“He was a really nice guy,” said Roberto Moran, a friend and Torres’s husband. Perez joined the couple on a trip to El Salvador; the three had been planning a trip to Tijuana and San Diego. Perez liked to travel, ac-cording to Moran, who recalled that Perez spent time in Europe, Japan and destinations in the U.S.
To 19-year old Haziel Reyes and 18-year-old Emmanuel Perez, a niece and nephew, Perez was a second father. According to Haziel, Perez used to attend events at her school when her dad wasn’t available. Emmanuel said his uncle would take care of him when the family went on vacations.
Johnny Padilla, a former San Francisco Housing Authority em-ployee who used to eat lunch at The Ramp, recalled Perez having a smile for everyone. Eureka resident and former Ramp employee Princess Carroll recalled Perez’s optimism. So did Julio Bravo, the leader of a band that played at a fundraiser to collect money to help pay for the Perez family’s funeral expenses. Bravo said Perez was a hardworking guy who always had a smile on his face. “That’s not easy,” he said.
More than 200 people attended Perez’s memorial, which was held in January. A Ramp employee who asked not to be named said of Perez’s death, “God got a new angel.”
Perez is survived by brothers Victor Perez, Gilberto Perez and Alejandro Perez; and sisters Teresa Perez, Patricia Perez, Lety Perez, Marcela Perez and Yolanda Perez.
