A new place to have a good time

Wasco K&R Banquet Halls opened its doors on Broadway with an official ribbon cutting Tuesday.

Owner Ruth Ramos might be a familiar name to the residents of Wasco, since she owns the State Farm Agency on 7th Street, right around the corner from the new banquet halls. Aside from being co-owner, her husband, Oscar, is the general manager of the facility.

Ramos will continue to operate her insurance business next door; her husband, will also continue working in hopitalityat the Bakersfield Petroleum Club as a bartender and server.

"We purchased this building in August of 2018," Ruth Ramos said. "Before, we were leasing my office space from the Bakersfield Masonic Temple."

The Ramos's were excited to be able to bring a new business into Wasco.

"We wanted to do something that was different that no one had done before, and when the building became available, we bought it and decided this is what we would do – something that would help bring a different type of business into Wasco."

They remodeled the inside of the building and added their own special touch to the décor.

"It is so great to see a new business of this nature coming to Wasco," Mayor Alex Garcia said. "This will give the city an opportunity to host different types of events in town, such as weddings, quinceaneras, etc."

Ruth Ramos said that upstairs there are two separate rooms where a bride and her attendants can dress, and the groom and his groomsmen can dress and be separated from the bride.

"The room downstairs holds 100 people," Ramos said. "The one upstairs holds about 250; however, if you are having a meeting and just need chairs, each room could hold more."

For the grand opening, the rooms were decorated with tables set up for dining, complete with linens and linen-covered chairs, along with a buffet serving table.

The location of the banquet hall is 714 Broadway St.; they can be reached at 661-808-0842.

The Ramos's arrived in the United States from Mexico City in 1990 and came to Bakersfield in 2003. Ruth Ramos started her State Farm Insurance Agency in Wasco in 2007.

Ramos believes in supporting the growing local Latino community, which makes up a large portion of the population in Wasco and in Kern County.

On a personal note, the Ramos's have two sons, who both live in Portland, Ore. "We can't get them to move to Kern County," Oscar Ramos said. "We are fortunate to be able to visit them often."

Delano friends of the Ramos family, Raymond and Thelma Kay, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to show their support of the new Wasco business. They are familiar with Wasco, with Raymond having driven his 1967 Olds 98 in the Rose Parade.

The Ramos's hope that their children will be involved in their new venture.

"We have this business for them," Ruth Ramos said. "What we do is for our family and for the city of Wasco."