The PicNic beach bar in Sitges has to close forever on Sunday or they will send the security forces

SitgesThe PicNic restaurant in Sitges, located on the Passeig Marítim, will close forever this Sunday. The State Ministry for Ecological Transition informed them of this days ago via email, and also through lawyers. "If we don't do it, they threaten to send us the security forces, who they say would change the locks and bolts," states Joan Anton Matas, of the Matas Arnalot Group family, who is in charge. Matas explains that they will comply with the ruling, so Sunday will be the last day one can go there for lunch and dinner. They will even serve a final glass of cava on Sunday, from 6 pm to 9 pm, but despite all this, they do not agree with the ruling, because they believe they have a point. What is that point?

According to Matas, the PicNic should be outside the coastal law, because it has a seafront promenade in front of the beach. To continue, it is a Local Cultural Heritage Asset; therefore, it is a listed building, which cannot be demolished until it is declassified. And finally, the examples of other establishments on the same seafront promenade that have received a closure order, the Club de Mar and the Kansas restaurant, "are in a deplorable state, we could even say unsanitary". For this reason, Matas wonders what is the point of closing them if the buildings are maintained in poor condition.

For all these reasons, the Matas Group returned to court to request what is technically called a precarious permit, which would mean that they are allowed to remain open until the ministry decides what to do with this space, but they have also been denied. "Despite this, they won't be able to do anything if the building is not declassified by the Sitges City Council, and then it could happen that we close and the building remains closed for years". If the Ministry for the Ecological Transition were able to demolish the establishment, "the classification of a building as a Cultural Heritage Asset would be useless", explains Joan Anton Matas, who adds that they have been fighting against the closure since 2018.

The case of the PicNic is not new. In recent years, there have been different similar episodes along the Catalan coast. In January 2025, the Boia bar in Cadaqués closed, which remains closed and in an abandoned state because the Alt Empordà county council did not remove the building's classification protection until a few days ago. It seems that it will be demolished in the middle of next month. Another recent episode has been that of La Caleta, in Sant Vicenç de Montalt, a complex case because the establishment operates on Adif land, to whom the owners paid rent.