It was in 2014 when Lito Baldovinos and Enric Rebordosa decided to ally to revive the historic Raval establishment La Confiteria; ten years later, the group has a network of 24 establishments, to which four more will be added this year. The activity of its bars, restaurants, and cocktail bars, which include the award-winning Paradiso, leads the group to aim for 25 million in turnover in 2024.
Among the group's upcoming openings is a spin-off of its flagship, Paradiso. Located in the adjacent premises, it will open its doors in the coming months. So will the iconic restaurant of La Font del Gat in Montjuïc, whose management has recently been awarded to the group, as well as a new establishment inspired by the Danish designer Verner Panton and a new cocktail bar on Tusset street, which "will be a place that will travel the world," reveals Rebordosa.
The most international establishment, however, is Paradiso. The group, with 300 employees, plans to boost the expansion of the cocktail bar, which recently landed in Dubai, within a luxury hotel. What has been Grup Confiteria's first bar abroad will soon add a second, and that is that the group plans to take the Paradiso model to other cities internationally, starting with Caracas.
The success of Paradiso generated "the muscle to start buying bars one after another"In this way, the group led by Baldovinos and Rebordosa is now focused on "the international expansion of cocktail bars, and in Barcelona, always Barcelona." Thus, will maintain their focus on the Catalan capital, especially on the recovery of historic and emblematic venuesdue to the "love affair with historic bars" of both co-founders.
This shared interest in historic venues was the seed of the company driven by Baldovinos and Rebordosa. Friends since childhood, they brought their careers together after starting on different paths: Baldovinos opted for marketing and worked in a toy company, and Rebordosa ventured into the bar business in Paris. It was Baldovinos who proposed to Rebordosa to venture into setting up bars in Barcelona; they started by recovering La Confiteria, followed by Bar Muy Buenas. Then came the boom with Paradiso, "the group's great success."
The good reception of the cocktail bar generated "the muscle to start buying bars one after another" by the group, owned by both founders and Joan Rebordosa, the co-founder's brother. The impetus provided by Paradiso resulted in the opening of more than two dozen venues, marked by a historical character that goes beyond the scope of restoration, as is the case of the Balius hardware store, converted into a gastrobar. In addition to this objective of preserving heritage, the group's venues share a classic and unique atmosphere and a commitment to mixology with which the group wants to cross borders and continue growing in Barcelona.