Christian Escribà: "We had to close the Rambla store because dust and noise were getting in, and we had no customers."

BarcelonaPastry chef Christian Escribà will reopen his Escribà pastry shop on La Rambla, formerly known as Antigua Casa Figueras, in the middle of next month to prepare for the Christmas season. Last summer, he decided to close its doors and put up a "Closed for Holidays" sign because, until then, the construction work on La Rambla between the Liceu opera house and the Boqueria market meant there was "nothing but noise and no customers." The closure has, of course, resulted in financial losses and the dismissal of five of his seven employees. However, the pastry chef says that the City Council has kept them informed about the progress of the construction (they have found remains of city walls), given them a new completion date—it should have already been finished, but it will now be next month—and assured them that, once the work is completed, there will be a redesign of the space, which they have discussed with them.

The shop on La Rambla is the second Escribà store. Christian Escribà opened it in 1986 when he was twenty-five, while his father worked at the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes location. It's an eighty-square-meter space with modernist mosaics inside and a terrace license for five tables, located on Carrer de la Petxina, which were like an oasis of peace amidst the hustle and bustle of La Rambla and the entrance to La Boqueria market. For the reopening, the pastry chef is considering not opening the terrace, as the idea is to only sell Christmas products—panettone, nougat, wafers—with one employee on duty in the morning and another in the afternoon. "We'll test how this proposal goes; in the long run, I have another idea to transform the shop and turn it into a pilot for a new project," explains the pastry chef, who admits he knows that the closure of the La Rambla shop led many to believe it would never reopen. "That's why I put up the 'Closed for Vacation' sign, but it's certainly been a long vacation, because it started in July and will last until next November." Christian Escribà's father, Antoni Escribà, had even put up signs saying "We'll open when we can" when he'd been in a similar situation, where construction or other obstacles forced them to keep their pastry shops closed longer than they wanted.

Rethinking the businesses on La Rambla

In any case, the pastry chef, who points out that Barcelona City Council has provided them with all the necessary information, believes that, with the Rambla renovations, "it would be necessary to review the existing businesses to find larger ones." "What's on offer? How different is it compared to what's available on Rambla de Catalunya?" he asks. To continue, once the Christmas season is over, the pastry chef states that he will close the shop again because, once the Rambla renovations are finished, work will begin on the building where the shop is located. "We had scaffolding that had already kept customers away, because the shop was hidden; they had to remove it when the Rambla renovations started, and therefore, the building renovations were halted." The building renovations will also include the restoration—specifically, the polishing—of the modernist mosaics inside the shop, which are part of the city's artistic heritage. "We'll do everything to make it beautiful in the end; and if you don't believe me, just look at how great Consell de Cent street looks after all the renovations," the pastry chef remarks.

Escribà explains all this calmly because during the 120 years that the Escribà brand is about to celebrate, they've seen "everything." Not just because of the pandemic. In 2008, they also went through a difficult period when they were on the verge of bankruptcy in twenty-four hours, but managed to stop it all at the last minute. "In 120 years, we've experienced many tough times, and you have to know how to endure and manage them; you also learn not to take on more than you can handle, so you never find yourself in a situation that catches you off guard," the pastry chef reflects, adding that he's currently writing everything up for a book he's publishing. The book will chronicle the 120-year history of the Escribà family business, with shops on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and La Rambla in Barcelona.