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Karmen Zhao, Staff Writer

The RAM closes its doors after 52 years of service

RAM Restaurant and Brewery closure sign on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 in Salem, Oregon. Photo by Caramia Christensen.

The long-beloved Salem restaurant and brewery, the RAM, known for its warm, American pub food and lively Pint Nights has been closed since June 18, 2024, leaving a vacant building in its wake. Located a crosswalk away from Willamette University’s soccer field, the RAM had welcomed generations of university students and faculty, along with long-time regulars, new visitors and local Salem families. 


Outlined on the official RAM website’s about page, The RAM is a family-owned chain restaurant, serving “warm pub food and cold beer.” Starting out as a “Deluxe Cavern” and the “Ram Pub” in 1971, the RAM blossomed within seven different states and as of today, has over thirty restaurants. 


In an article from the Salem Reporter written a day after the closure on June 19, 2024, it was announced that the RAM is actively looking for a new location to reopen in Salem and ideally, would be able to rehire former employees that worked at the old RAM. Only a week after that article was published, the Salem Reporter released another article that dove deeper into the reasons for the RAM’s closure, stating that the restaurant laid off nearly 40 employees unannounced, leaving some in distress and frustration. 


The article went on to explain that the structure of the building had been aging poorly since the early 2000s, but on March 25, 2023, the ceiling of the kitchen collapsed in on itself, nearly injuring an employee working in the kitchen. This prompted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of Oregon to write up a citation for the location. 


Additionally, after undergoing a Marion County Environmental Health inspection in December 2023, it was found that the ceiling was still crumbling months after the incident. Records in the City of Salem had obtained a permit to allow the water damage restoration company SERVPRO to fix water damage to the ceiling in 2019. However, there is no record of completed construction. 


Unable to keep the restaurant open for a final week of celebratory farewells to its loyal Salem customers, the RAM’s sudden closure brought reminiscent memories back to the students and staff of Willamette University and other small communities that utilized the RAM as a space for festivities and special occasions. Craig Milberg, a university librarian at Willamette since 2016, has been to the RAM on and off for the eight years he’s been here. “It was probably the first restaurant I ever went to once I started working here as a colleague took me,” Milberg recalled. “Both my kids have been involved in music and [the RAM] used to support the music programs in schools around Salem.” 


In spring 2024, the RAM hosted the Sprague High School Orchestra one last time, one of many musical collectives in Salem that the RAM had invited to perform in their Salem restaurant location. The restaurant had been actively participating in the promotion and support of schools and small communities within Salem throughout their 52 years of service. Milberg’s son, Kevin Milberg (’27), a current student at Willamette and a driven musician in Willamette’s concert band, symphony orchestra, Jazz Collective, and pep band, expressed his remembrance of the restaurant: “I always used to go out for dinner with my parents and family after concerts and since the RAM was so convenient, we would just drive across the street.” 


Since its closure, the Milberg family's late night post-concert celebrations have changed slightly. “Last concert, we had to drive all the way to Applebees just to get chicken tenders,” Kevin Milberg explained. 


The closure of the RAM also became a frustration for locals who looked forward to their weekly Thursday night Pint Nights from 9-12 p.m., where the RAM served happy hour food and $3 pints of beer. Since they closed their doors this past summer, the Willamette Heritage Center’s Taproot Cafe announced on their Instagram page on Oct. 15 that they are now hosting Pint Nights running on the same schedule that the RAM once had. Taproot Cafe is now offering $4 pints. 

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