IN DOWNTOWN RATÓN, across from the stately brick railway station, Jacob Blackwell is arranging organic vegetables and minding the register inside the Heirloom Shop. With its emerald awning and vintage lettering on the window, the storefront could be plucked from another era. 

The little city is bustling on this Saturday afternoon—a band plays old work songs in front of the ice cream parlor and summer shoppers browse the antique shops. It’s this quaint community that captured Kayvan Khalatbari’s imagination when he first visited in 2020. “It was the feeling you get,” he says when asked what drew him to invest in the town. “It’s magical.” 

Originally from a small town in Nebraska, Khalatbari is also a realist. He saw the vacant buildings in town, noticed the disrepair. But he also saw opportunity. “I knew right away I wanted to be here,” he says. 

Find organic produce, vintage clothes, and more. Photograph courtesy of the Heirloom Shop.

Khalatbari now owns 15 properties in Ratón and Trinidad, Colorado, splitting his time evenly between Ratón, Denver, and La Veta, Colorado. The Heirloom Shop and its affiliated Ramel Family Farms are just two of his many endeavors. After entrepreneurial success in cannabis and the Sexy Pizza chain, Khalatbari wanted to enjoy a slower pace of life. “The people here are great,” he says. “They care about growing the economy and improving the lives of the people who live there. I think that’s really appealing.” 

For Khalatbari, the decision to buy a one-acre farm was inspired in part by the availability of New Mexico’s Local Economic Development Act grants. “I wanted to do something in the community that was a positive influence,” he says. “We identified that food was something needed in the area.” In 2022, he used the funding to purchase a steel structure and build a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse on property leased from the city. 

Run by his brother, Hassan, the farm produces about 250 pounds of greens every week, which are distributed to schools, senior centers, and rural restaurants. Ramel Family Farms also began growing mushrooms such as Chaga, reishi, and Cordyceps that are often sold in capsule form as supplements. 

Kayvan (left) and Hasan Khalatbari. Photograph courtesy of the Heirloom Shop.

Some greens and mushrooms also go to the Heirloom Shop, where they sit alongside a selection of local products, including Taos Bakes granola bars and Los Roast chile. “We have the nicest produce in town,” says Blackwell, a Washington transplant, of the all-organic selection. 

Shortly after opening the 1,600-square-foot space, Khalatbari began hearing from customers that they’d also like a place to shop for houseplants, vintage clothes, used books, and vinyl records. “There was nowhere to get that in town, so we kept growing and expanding the Heirloom Shop,” Khalatbari says. “They’re happy to come in and buy it locally.” 

These days, the store carries between 40 and 50 local producers, ranging from meats and baked goods to prickly-pear pepper jam and blue corn roasted atole. There are also body products, herbal tea blends, and locally roasted coffee.  

“The demand was higher than we anticipated,” Khalatbari says. In fact, this past May was the store’s best sales month ever. “We’re hoping to expand to a larger space sometime next year.” 

Editor's note: In late July, Ramel Family Farms announced it will shut down operations in Ratón on September 25, 2025. The team says the Heirloom Shop will remain open for now, and they will continue supporting community initiatives.