Gràcia’s Rebuilt Abaceria Market Opens Nov. 17 With 37 Shops
The rebuilt Mercat de l'Abaceria in Gràcia opens Nov. 17 with 37 shops and a supermarket. What changes for shoppers, the cost and the Nov. 21 celebration.
The new Mercat de l’Abaceria, the municipal food market in Barcelona’s Gràcia district, opens in its permanent building on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Construction of the structure and the fit-out of the stalls are finished, Metrópoli Abierta reported, so the market in El Camp d’en Grassot i Gràcia Nova can take its first customers next week.
The move ends almost seven years in a temporary tent on Passeig de Sant Joan, set up in 2019. This Saturday is the tent’s last day of trading, and stallholders will finish moving into the new building over the following week.
Timed for the Christmas shopping season
The Ajuntament de Barcelona (city council) wanted the move done before the busy end-of-year sales period. Raquel Gil, the deputy mayor for Economic Promotion and Work, said the goal was to make the change before Christmas so vendors could settle in before a campaign she called important.
Gil also warned that not every stall may be working at full capacity from Nov. 17, because traders need time to finish setting up and test their equipment. She asked neighbors to be “generosos” (generous) and patient on the first day.
Stallholders have planned outdoor activities in front of the new building on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 21, and have invited the neighborhood to celebrate the opening.
What the new building looks like
The design keeps the volume and materials of the original market. Its facades and perimeter are transparent, so the building is visible from the surrounding streets. Photovoltaic panels on the ceramic roof generate solar power to improve energy efficiency.
At street level there is a ground floor with mezzanines for offices and multipurpose rooms. Three underground floors hold the logistics area, loading and unloading, waste handling, customer parking and a large supermarket.
The market will have 37 neighborhood businesses in total:
- 30 stalls inside the building
- six stalls outside
- one self-service supermarket
What it means for Gràcia shoppers
For residents who have shopped in the tent on Passeig de Sant Joan since 2019, the market returns to a permanent home with parking and a large supermarket under the same roof. Anyone visiting in the first days should expect some stalls to still be setting up, according to the council.
How the 38 million euros was spent
The full project cost 38 million euros. That figure covers construction of the new building, where work began in October 2023, and 6.2 million euros to fit out the interior shops. It also includes the cost of the temporary market and the redesign of the surrounding streets, among them the change of traffic direction on Travessera de Gràcia carried out by BIMSA, the city’s infrastructure company.
A tribute to Amaia Arrazola
The building will include two memorial areas dedicated to local artist Amaia Arrazola, who died in November 2025. Working with a group of graffiti artists, she created the mural on the construction hoarding that decorated the site while the new market was being built.
Source: Metrópoli Abierta
