Gary Bric’s Ramp restaurant to close end of month
After working for 50 years in the restaurant-service industry, former Burbank council member and mayor Gary Bric has decided it’s time for last call.
For just over 25 years, Bric has been owner of Gary Bric’s Ramp, a quirky steakhouse nestled next to the 5 Freeway at 7730 N. Hollywood Way.
The restaurant has been at that location since 1962 and was purchased by the lifelong Burbank resident in 1993. However, with rising overhead costs and running a business for the last quarter of a century, Bric said it was just time for him to retire and enjoy his life.
The last day patrons can dine at the restaurant will be Friday, Nov. 30.
“I get my Medicare, I’ll be signing up for Social Security and I’ll be 67 next April,” he said. “I’ve paid my dues, and I’ve been doing this day and night for a long time, so it’s time to hang it up and enjoy what years we have left.”
Bric was a bartender at the restaurant for more than five years, and, when he was given the opportunity to purchase the business, he said he didn’t hesitate.
It was his first time running his own restaurant, but he was confident about his new venture.
“But you think you know everything going in,” Bric said. “You don’t know squat, but with everything you do in life, there’s a learning curve and with experience comes the knowledge.”
Like many businesses, Bric said his restaurant had its ups and downs. Many of his friends told him he was crazy to buy a restaurant, but he proved them wrong.
He managed to stay afloat during the recession in 2008 and even after a car crashed into the restaurant in 2013 when he had to shut down the business for more than seven weeks.
Bric eventually sold the property to an investor, and he said he thinks its days as a restaurant are numbered.
“Unfortunately, the profit margin in this business [is thin] and minimum wage [is] going up; it’s just so difficult,” Bric said.
Regardless of what was thrown his way, Bric said challenges did not stop him from enjoying his time at the restaurant.
He enjoyed seeing the families of his customers grow up and was proud to see many of his employees move on to bigger and better jobs.
“The most rewarding things were the people that I’ve met and customers that I’ve served,” Bric said. “To watch a couple generations of people going through here, to see them grow and mature, has been rewarding. That’s what it’s all about.”
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
