The century-old butcher shop next to Lake Banyoles that has been awarded by the Generalitat

GironaThe historic delicatessen and butcher shop Can Pericus in Banyoles is in luck. This legendary family business, founded in 1899, has been honored with the National Award for Centenary Establishments, a recognition given by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government) to businesses that have been in business for more than a century. The award honors the more than 125 years of experience of this late 19th-century butcher shop, which is now located in a space in the old town and another under the arches of Plaça Catalunya, just a stone's throw from the lake. Over the years, Can Pericus has become a benchmark throughout the Girona region, adapting the classic offering of cured meats and fresh meat of certified origin with a vast assortment of high-quality prepared and cooked dishes. Dozens of customers from the town pass through every day, but also many residents of Girona and Olot who make a special stop each time they visit the lake and take the opportunity to fill their fridges.

"This award is a tribute to all the generations who have worked with dedication and honesty to keep the project alive. We are proud to continue the path my great-grandfather started and to continue loving this profession as much as he did," explains David Roca, current owner and fourth generation to run the establishment, along with the establishment next door. In addition to the two stores (the one in the Plaza Mayor and the more recent one in the Olympic Village), Can Pericus also runs a gastrobar, attached to the last store, where dishes are prepared from food in the display cases, and a catering service for banquets and events.

Angel Cigaletas, lunch menu and cooked dishes

In delicatessen stores, one of the star products is Angel Cigaletas., A type of long, narrow secallones made with pork. The entire assortment of chicken burgers, beef with vegetables, mushroom burgers, and cheese burgers are eye-catching, as are the vegan burgers and cod burgers that customers come specifically for. The well-packaged takeaway dishes, which last several days in the fridge, make for a great week-end: stews, macaroni, cannelloni, escalivada (a type of grilled vegetables), and stuffed eggplant are essential. And in the restaurant sector, the lunch menus, at €19.50, work very well. In the evening, it's also an ideal place for tapas of croquettes, bravas (fried vegetables), and strips of marinated chicken, as well as well-seasoned salads or burgers that change weekly and generate a lot of excitement.

The founding great-grandfather, Pere Roca i Curet, opened the first butcher shop in Mata, a small village in the municipality of Porqueres, before moving to the Plaza de les Rodas in Banyoles, where the business took root permanently, combining the sale of meat products with an inn where farmers and locals could eat. With each generation, the business evolved, and in the 1980s, Pedro and Kimi, parents of the current owner, began to design a range of hamburgers, marinated meats, and artisanal products. This was not yet so fashionable, but they worked very well and set a standard.

Business evolution and presence on social networks

And this is the testimony that David Roca has embraced, convinced that the secret to success is knowing how to change with the times without losing the essence. "Just as everything evolves, our sector must also constantly change. What my grandparents or my parents did has nothing to do with what we do today. We don't just work with traditional cuts, such as sweet or salted ham, but we've transformed the products to adapt them to current tastes," he explains. He adds: "Before, for the local festival, my parents had to prepare lamb shoulders, canned beef, and roast chickens for family meals. Now all this has changed: they want you to cook them, which they don't want to do at home. If we had to rely on whole chickens, whole chickens. Of course, dedicating ourselves to prepared dishes and diversifying the business also means more work, and now, at Can Pericus, there are already around thirty employees in the different stores and workshops.

The desire of this fourth generation at the helm of the butcher shop to adapt to changing times is also evident in their commitment to communication and their presence on social media. To build customer loyalty, a close relationship at the counter is key to establishing a relationship of trust, but online advertising also plays an important role in attracting new audiences: "People are sometimes afraid to go into the store, ask questions, choose... and prefer to go to the supermarket to buy everything at once and in packaged form, but today we have tools to show what we do." Furthermore, Roca defends the importance of quality and proximity over the convenience store shopping experience: "Supermarkets may seem cheaper, but often you pay more for the plastic and packaging than for the product, and the taste in your mouth has nothing to do with it," he adds.