PODCAST: Last orders – Barcelona bars and restaurants' pandemic struggle

25% of the city's eateries have shut for good and another 25% could follow suit says Barcelona Restaurant Association

Customers enjoying a drink in Casa Pagès in Barcelona's Gràcia neighborhood, November 23, 2020 (by Jordi Bataller)
Customers enjoying a drink in Casa Pagès in Barcelona's Gràcia neighborhood, November 23, 2020 (by Jordi Bataller) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

May 1, 2021 10:32 AM

September 19, 2022 07:36 PM

 

Cafe culture and eating out are at the heart of the Barcelona lifestyle, but the Catalan capital's bars and restaurants - all 9,000 of them nearly - have had a tough year trying to survive amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Press play below to listen or subscribe on Apple PodcastsGoogle Podcasts or Spotify.

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on Spotify

Roger Pallarols from the Barcelona Restaurant Association explains why he thinks the measures have been too restrictive and the financial help insufficient.

Alan Ruiz Terol talks to the owners of two of his favorite spots about their struggles – Rafel Jordana of La Bodega d'en Rafel and Mario Pérez Ruiz of 7 Vides bookstore who used to run Pizzes l'Àvia in the Raval neighborhood.

Cristina Tomàs White, Cillian Shields and Lorcan Doherty remember some of the iconic restaurants lost to the pandemic and ask whether the return of tourists to the city will be enough to ease the sector's woes.

Listen to more episodes of Filling the Sink below.