The grocery store that resists all attacks (now, that of Faustino's retirement)

BarcelonaIt all happened at the end of December. On December 29, Faustino Muñoz retired and posted it on his Instagram account, but because of the date it went unnoticed. Many even thought it was a joke, an April Fool's joke. His son, Manuel Muñoz, who runs Colmado Quílez (Rambla de Catalunya, 63) as a manager, tells the story. "I have always wanted to dedicate myself to it, by my own decision, and I have been here since January 1, 2016," he explains precisely. Being Carnival week, he says this while the large entrance counter is full of egg sausages, the most sought after by customers.

The Colmado Quílez is a neighborhood establishment, which lived through some hectic years when in December 2014 the two-decade moratorium that had been planned for old-rent commercial premises in the urban rental law (LAU) ended, approved in Ramem on Catalunya Aragón street, where it had some shop windows that were works of art and has held out with a premises that is a third of what it had been. In any case, since Colmado Quílez is located on a central artery through which the river of tourism flows, sales fluctuate between what is on offer according to the calendar and what tourists want to take home. Let's explain it with examples: egg sausages with all kinds of nougat, which are a draw from the entrance door, where they are displayed so that they can be seen from the street, and slices of packaged ham.

Since we have talked about ham, we will focus on it. They work with a quality and trustworthy brand, called La Jabugueña, located in the town of Jabugo, and which has a very competitive price, if you take into account that it is Iberian ham (17.50 euros for 100 grams). For special orders, in which the client asks them for Other brands of ham also have Joselito, from Guijuelo. And the specialty of the grocery store is to have the most valued brands on the market for each of the products they sell. Ham, coffee, which can be bought in beans and ground at the moment, cheeses (watch out for the Catalan Betara cheese), olive oils (such as Molino Coloma de la Boella) or nuts. In other words, everything they sell are brands that do not enter the supermarket circuits: so know that at Colmado Quílez you will find Vic Riera Ordeix sausages.

To continue, over the years, Colmado Quílez has aligned itself with the wineries to label them with the name of the establishment. It is a way of gaining the trust of customers, who know that the Cudié catañas labeled with the Quílez brand contain a greater quantity than the usual ones. The same occurs with the nuts or the asparagus from Navarra, which are also packaged with the proper name. And, apart from selling it directly to the customer who enters the store, its strength is direct sales to the hospitality industry, and among all the restaurants that supply it, the great relationship they have with the restaurant El Racó d'en Cesc stands out.

Imported delicacies

Along with products made in our country and in the State, the grocery store stands out for its imported delicacies. Caviar, number 1. "The day Barça was playing against Atlético de Madrid, they came to pick up a 250-gram tin of Iranian beluga caviar worth a thousand euros," says Manuel. And now the sweet that is eaten in Italy during Holy Week, the so-called "Easter", is starting to arrive. dove, which has the same dough and taste as panettone but is shaped like a dove.

We return to Faustino. He started working at the grocery store on February 2, 1978 (his son once again gives the exact date). He retired in December after sixty-six years of continuous work. His spotless white and blue coat and tie are worn today by his son, who is dressed in the official uniform, like the rest of the workers (all men). He was passionate about everything that came in, and he delved into his knowledge to tell his customers about it. So much so that he wrote a book about the one hundred and twenty different types of water that come to the establishment, and he knows how to explain them like someone reciting the lineup of a football team. He knows how they are made, where and why they are different.

Faustino, now retired, has more days to return to his hometown, Seville, but he doesn't miss the day we meet with the photographer to take a photo of him and his son. It's many years of work. And many years demanding that society values the profession. "We don't have references like other sectors of the food industry that do have; sommeliers and chefs have them, but we, the shopkeepers, don't," he always repeated. Going into a food store and being told what the sausages we buy or the wines are like, because Colmado Quílez has shelves and shelves of reference wines, is a lucky break. By the way, one of the curiosities that can be satisfied is to look for the most expensive wines that are on offer. Do it. I'll give you one in advance: a Bordeaux. A Pétrus, valued at 7,250 euros. Of Catalan wine, La Ermita: 1,800 euros. "All these wines, especially Vega Sicilia, are the ones that the congressmen of the Mobile World Congress come looking for," Manuel concludes.