Port de la Selva (Girona) will have open this Easter practically all of the eight bars, restaurants and beach bars that had to close last August, suddenly, after the suicide of the couple who ran them. The tragic outcome, which shocked this small town of a thousand inhabitants in the north of the Costa Brava, affected more than 22% of its gastronomic offer and left a hundred employees on the street and significant economic losses for twenty local businessmen, is now behind us. A few months after this sad episode, thanks to the involvement of local businessmen, practically all of them will open at Easter. After decades spending summers in Port de la Selva, and with a good portfolio of friends, in 2018 José Andrés Bel, “Pepito”, proposed to run the restaurant of a neighbor who was retiring, Ca l’Herminda-La Brisa. It was the first. It was followed by Cafè de la Marina, Ca la Maria, Xiri, La Bámbola, Ave María and Can Rubiés, all rented. His good reputation in business—he had been general director of the Castañer footwear chain, of the handbags and accessories company Misako, and operating director of Stradivarius—made at least twenty people trust him and invest in his businesses. He blew up prices, if the rents were around 2,500 euros, he doubled them, the same thing he did to win the beach bar contest. The owners of the premises were happy and for a time the businesses, which they kept open in a pioneering way in winter, worked. In 2024, some investors suspected that things were not going as well as he made it seem and cut professional ties with him. On June 16, his wife, Adela Esteban, 68, committed suicide, and on July 29, at the age of 71, he tried, but ended up dying on August 20 at the Trueta Hospital. There was no police investigation. The City Council showed “concern” for the employees and owners of the premises, and offered to help find solutions. As the new sole administrator of the company, with 51%, TQ MR Family II, which was the investment partner, remained. He promised diligence and in a short time the owners recovered their premises and the machinery was put in motion again to reverse the situation.Café de la Marina, another of the establishments affected by the disappearance of its previous owners. Massimiliano Minocri Several local businessmen valued running these establishments, both for the business opportunity and to act for the benefit of the town. The first was a businessman from Figueres who had lived there for years to whom Bel had rented a place, La Bámbola. Although he was not dedicated to catering, he decided to run the establishment. He named it Blaus and, once restored, it was the first to open. It offers breakfast, tapas, some dishes and snacks and has been advised on the menu by the renowned chef from Llançà, Paco Pérez. “Once the premises were recovered, I decided that, because of the benefits it was going to give us, since this is not the main business we are dedicated to, I preferred that the family manage it, so we could provide quality service and also provide work for several neighbors,” he details. It will be open all year round, something that, until Bel arrived, was unheard of. Cristina Perelló and her daughter Anna, from a family of fishermen, have been dedicated to the restoration of local products for many years. Currently, they run the only restaurant located in the fishing port. Although they had not considered expanding the business, after the owners of Ca la Maria – the historic España bar – did not reach an agreement with their “suitors”, they got in touch and, “after doing numbers, we decided to take a step forward,” explains Perelló. It will modernize the premises and open at the end of February. They will offer signature tapas. Another family of restaurateurs from the Port has also decided to take advantage of this opportunity and run Ca l’Herminda, which was for a long time one of the highest quality restaurants in the town. They opened months ago. A businesswoman with close ties to the town will be in charge of Can Rubiés (former hamburger restaurant) and El Cafè de la Marina needs to find a manager. Nothing is known about Ave María, far from the center, on the Cadaqués road. As for the two beach bars, “Xiris”, the one in Platja Gran and the one in Platja del Pas, their tender was approved at the government meeting on January 19 and the deadline for submitting applications and projects was opened. “We hope to tender at the end of February,” says the mayor, Lidia Ferrer. The concession will be for four years and the bases stipulate a minimum of 5,000 euros per year for the first and 6,000 for the second. “From the Town Hall we are very happy that the people of the town, those who know the territory, the type of tourism that comes here, the meteorology and the temporality, are taking charge of these businesses,” says Ferrer. He warns: “Here you can have a terrace, but if you get caught in the wind for two weeks, the numbers will not be as expected.” Both Ferrer and Josep Maria Cervera, mayor until two years ago, believe that it is a new opportunity. «A misfortune can turn into an opportunity and now it is diversifying, the fact that not all the businesses are in the same hands assures you that one can go wrong, but what happened last August will hardly happen.»
