Gràcia’s Mercat de l’Abaceria Returns to Its Historic Site Tuesday
Mercat de l'Abaceria leaves Passeig de Sant Joan and reopens on its original Gràcia site on Tuesday, with a new semi-covered square of about 1.500 m².
The Mercat de l’Abaceria, the food market of Barcelona’s Vila de Gràcia, spent its last day at its temporary home on Passeig de Sant Joan on Saturday. Its stallholders reopen on Tuesday in the rebuilt market on the original site in Gràcia, the newspaper Ara reported.
For shoppers in the neighbourhood, this ends years of walking further to buy fish, meat and groceries. Several vendors told Ara they expect to see regular customers again who had stopped coming because the temporary site was too far from them.
A weekend to pack and move
The move takes three days. Carlos Descals and Rosa Marcial, who sell pulses, groceries and ready-made dishes at the Marcial i Mas stall, described the plan to Ara: boxes on Saturday afternoon, the move on Sunday, setting up on Monday and trading again on Tuesday.
Saturday morning was busy, and Ara reported that curious visitors came to see the last day at the old location. Albert Madrid runs the Montse Ràfols stall, named after his mother, which has always sold salt cod, olives and pickles. He took over from his parents four years ago, and his family worked at the historic site before him. “Tornem a casa” (“We’re going back home”), he told the paper, adding that the new building looks very good.
Families, retirements and loyal customers
At Peixos Barrera, mother and daughter Karla and Elsa are the third and fourth generations working in the market. The family plans to put up a photo of Karla’s father, Lluís Barrera, at the new stall as a tribute. He worked in the historic building from childhood but will not be able to see the new one.
A long-time customer, Maria Teresa, an 80-year-old Gràcia resident, said she would walk as far as needed to keep shopping there, even though the new site is a little further from her.
One stall will not reopen. Antoni Lázaro, the fishmonger known as Tonet de Gràcia (a nickname also used by his grandfather, his father and his son), retired on Saturday. His children did not want to continue the business and he chose not to sell it on, so the stall passes to the Ajuntament de Barcelona (the city council). “I don’t mind at all, because I’ve worked enough,” he told Ara. He said he would keep visiting the market as a customer.
Two of his regulars, Josep and Josefina, have bought fish from the stall for 50 years, first from his father. They moved from Gràcia to El Putxet 30 years ago and still come down every Saturday. They told Ara they will follow the market to its new site.
What this means for Gràcia
The original market closed in 2018. Works to rebuild it on the same spot began five years later, and the new structure is a replica of the historic one designed by the architect Joan Torras Guardiola, according to Ara.
The project also gives the Vila de Gràcia a new semi-covered square of about 1.500 square metres, roughly the size of the Plaça de la Revolució. Ara reported that the square answers one of the main demands of local residents, who had asked for more open green space. After the Eixample, Gràcia is the district with the least of it in the city.
The move of the stallholders is the last step before the market’s reopening, which for years had looked out of reach. Trading at the rebuilt Abaceria starts on Tuesday.
Source: Ara
