Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal is reported to be behind the closure of yet another Lisbon landmark (see update below). This time it’s Pastelaria Suiça, going strong in the Baixa district of Rossio for almost 100 years.
Owner Fausto Roxo received the ‘dreaded letter’ from Lisbon council last week telling him that he’ll have to close his doors for the last time “at least in the space that Pastelaria Suiça currently occupies”.
Mabel Capital – jointly owned by two Spanish real estate promoters with Nadal as an investor – bought the block in which Pastelaria Suiça stands for a record €62 million earlier this year.
The deal was seen as yet another coup for the capital in terms of price paid – translating into more than €5000 per metre – and has meant that Suiça isn’t the only ‘landmark’ at risk of sudden extinction.
Joalharia Correia, on Rua do Ouro, and the Ana Salgueiro interiors shop on Rua do Alecrim, will also be forced to close, as the deal ecompasses four seven-storey blocks and an area of around 12,000 sq metres.
Fortunately, some ‘old favourites’ will be able to stay where they are, thanks to the council’s “Shops with History” programme.
Suiça’s owner explained that he had given up trying to get “Shops with History” protection as since making an application a year ago, “there have been various unpleasant changes of circumstance that have had a negative impact on the commercial exploration of Pastelaria Suiça, making its viability, subsistence and future continuity impossible”.
For those who love Lisbon, the busy coffee shop’s disappearance will mark yet another turn in the road for Portugal’s historic capital that is undergoing so many transformations.
What Mabel Capital plans for the block is unclear. Past projects have included a luxury hotel and all the accompanying spin-offs, but first there will be a huge amount of ‘rehabilitation’ work to get through as many of the upstairs rooms and apartments are in ruins.
As for the coffee shop itself, which employs around 50 people, staff describe the news as “sad”.
“We have served presidents, prime ministers, showbusiness personalities… we’re sad”, said one. “But for now at least we are still here, this is our place of work”.
And so it will be until August 31 when Pastelaria Suiça – a veritable symbol of Rossio – will be closing its doors forever.
UPDATE: Following a written plea by Lisbon residents to Nadal, the Spanish tennis ace has stressed that he has nothing to do with this particular purchase. Several newspapers have interpreted his Facebook message sent out to Portuguese fans on Sunday as meaning he has no links to Mabel Capital, either. But his message did not actually say that. It repeated itself in the middle of a sentence that otherwise said he had no direct link to this particular purchase.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
