There is an invisible but bitter ingredient that has recently been stifling traditional restaurants: the unsustainable cost of operations. In Barcelona, we’ve felt this in the most painful way, with the forced closure of one of the city’s iconic seafood restaurants. After more than thirty years in business, the shutters of the famous Merendero de la Mari are about to come down for good.
This time, the bill isn’t the one brought to the tables for an excellent paella or fried fish, but the one presented at the end of the month by the building’s owner: a monstrous rent of 53,000 euros. A figure that has become completely unsustainable for a small, family-run business that has made the freshness of its ingredients and its warm hospitality its trademark since 1994.
Amid falling sales and a night that’s fading away
There’s no point in hiding it: the restaurant industry has changed, and with it, the clientele. As Rosa Maria Ribera—the fourth generation of a family dedicated to hospitality—bitterly tells the newspaper El País, these difficulties didn’t arise overnight, but are rooted in the post-pandemic era and the profound transformation of the Port Vell area.
While the dining rooms, which seat 150, and the large terrace overlooking the sea (capable of accommodating up to 200 people) were once teeming with people, today the scene is bleak. Residents have gradually left the neighborhood, and the tourist flow has changed in terms of numbers and spending habits. “Evening foot traffic has plummeted, and those strolling along the harbor often don’t spend money on dinner. Those with high budgets prefer the restaurants inside the big luxury hotels. Furthermore, with the surge in raw material costs, profit margins have shrunk to the point of absurdity”, explains the owner.
Chronicle of a Foretold End
Originally established as an authentic chiringuito on the sands of Barceloneta and later successfully relocated under the arcades of the Palau de Mar on Plaça Pau Vila, the restaurant had weathered significant setbacks over the years, including the 2008 financial crisis. But the latest rent increase—which took effect in 2019 with a hike of more than 20 percent—combined with two lackluster summers and increasingly crushing operating costs, has finally brought the business, which employs as many as 30 people, to its knees.
After just two months of accumulated arrears due to ongoing losses, the managing entity served an eviction notice, closing the door on any possibility of renegotiating the rent. Now the ball is in the port authority’s court to determine who will take over the Palau de Mar spaces. For the Merendero de la Mari, however, a 32-year chapter is coming to a close. There remains a bitter aftertaste over the loss of a piece of Catalan culinary history, swept away by “sky-high” rents that risk leaving room only for major international brands.
