Belief in this assertion is why owner Jeff Ramsey has applied for the City’s new Legacy Business Program, a pilot launched by the City’s Office of Economic Development (OED) this month to “combat displacement of longstanding, culturally relevant businesses and support their continued stability and growth in a volatile period of economic growth, change, and opportunity,” according to internal documents.

After an application process closing Feb. 28, seven “Legacy Business” designees (one from each City Council district) will be rolled into the city’s Legacy Business marketing efforts and receive a free promotional video produced by a City contractor. While selected businesses will not receive cash, they will qualify for free legal consultation regarding lease renewal, negotiations and tenants’ rights issues, as well as succession planning — especially important given that longtime small businesses are more likely to close than their larger counterparts when the owner or operator retires, gets sick or passes away.

Café Racer owner Jeff Ramsey, seen from the OBAMA (Official Bad Art Museum of Art) delivering food to a customer, Feb. 25, 2020. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)

That Café Racer didn’t close for good after longtime owner Kurt Geissel threw in the towel in late 2017, after years of financial difficulties, is thanks to Ramsey. Just days after Café Racer’s farewell party, Ramsey purchased a majority stake in the beloved café, famous both as an incubator for emerging jazz musicians and for a 2012 shooting that resulted in four fatalities.

“I felt it was important for artists to have a place where they could get started,” Ramsey says. The former longtime patron is now behind the bar, taking orders for coffee, hot chocolate, salads and tequila on a recent Saturday afternoon. “I also felt the living memorial was important. This is the place where people...share in their loss and grief together.”