Fewer and fewer grocery stores remain in Barcelona, but one of them, Múrria, one of the oldest in Barcelona, inaugurated in 1898, begins a new stage this week. "We weren't thinking of closing, but we didn't know what our future was," says Joan Múrria, behind his counter since he was 19 years old, now more than 50 years ago. His family has owned the establishment since 1943, where they arrived after opening another grocery store, Quílez, also one of the few survivors in the city.
For some time, Múrria had been receiving different proposals from those interested in his business, located at Roger de Llúria with València, but he didn't like any of them and still wasn't sure what to do until Ernest Pérez-Mas, CEO of Parlem Telecom, arrived. A neighbor of the Eixample, the businessman was one of the grocery store's customers and proposed giving the place a makeover without losing its essence.
The formula involves adding a restaurant offering to the emblematic delicatessen, led by chef Jordi Vilà, from Alkimia and Al Kostat. And for all tastes. When customers enter the Múrria grocery store, they will find the usual shop, with its cured meats, cheeses, oils, preserves, coffees, and wines, but they will also see that there are two bars, with capacity for 25 diners, where tapas will be served. For those who prefer to sit down to eat at a table, tasting menus will be served in the old warehouse, now converted into a room with space for eight diners. As if that weren't enough, a private room has been incorporated into the mezzanine, where high-end gastronomy menus will be offered to groups of up to 10 people.
With this multifaceted offer, breakfasts, vermouths, lunches, and dinners will be served. Hours will be from 10 in the morning until 12 at night, with the kitchen open until an hour before. To whet the appetite, some of the gastronomic proposals the chef has in mind will be Florentine omelet; different versions of Russian salad, accompanying it with bonito, lobster, caviar or salmon, and savory pastries. The option of placing orders for takeout will be available.
"It's an opportunity," summarizes Múrria, who values Pérez-Mas as a local businessman and Vilà for his prestige. In this new stage, the CEO of Parlem, also at the helm of the Heretat Mascorrubí winery, has become the majority partner in the business and has been the one to inject the necessary resources to adapt the grocery store to new uses, for an undisclosed amount. Works on the premises began in August, maintaining the structure and furniture, but adding a kitchen and enabling different dining spaces.