"We had breakfast on churros because we smelled them from home"

BarcelonaSeated in a row, they hold a plastic cup with half-finished cava while chatting. "It's good, but I won't have any more, eh," one warns. "The cream xuixos here are very good. And the ensaïmadas too. Oh, and the chocolate! And the cream," another enumerates. Anna Maria, Maria Antònia, and Mirna live in the neighborhood's elderly residence located a few meters from the centenarian Ideal pastry shop in Vila de Gràcia. This Saturday morning, they have come down to attend the popular farewell party that has been organized in front of this establishment. The business, open since 1919, is on borrowed time: the Álvarez family will have to close it next May 31st if they don't find someone to take over.

"Oh, what a shame, what a shame... I've been coming here once or twice a week with Mirna for years," says Anna Maria, about 80 years old, at the doors of this business so loved by the neighborhood. She explains with a half-smile that she is diabetic, and that according to the doctor she shouldn't eat sweets too often, but she likes them a lot. "At my age..." she says. She doesn't finish the sentence, but it gives the impression that she asks herself with a certain mocking tone: "Who will forbid me anything?" She assures that if she had to choose a sweet from Ideal, it would be the xuixo. "But the small one. The big one is too big!" she adds.

She is not the only one who thinks so: the one from this pastry shop came second in the competition for the best xuixo in the world in 2019 and it is so generously filled that, between the cream and the powdered sugar, it requires more than one napkin. Víctor is buying at Ideal for the first time. He learned from the news that he will probably have to close his shop and wanted to taste the cream xuixo before it was too late. "Probably, one of the best I've tasted," he admits, pleasantly surprised. As a good resident of Girona, he boasts of having eaten many. "The toasted point is the key," he adds.

La Ideal is an emblem of the neighborhood and many of those who have approached the pastry shop this Saturday do not hide their sadness that this will be one of the last days they can go down for breakfast or a snack. "30 years ago, my husband and I used to have these cream puffs for breakfast because we could smell them from home," explains Maria Antònia, who had lived for many years in the adjacent building. That smell told them it was time for breakfast: "It was the signal; we would go down together to eat them," she recalls.

"Ideally forever"

In this stretch of Gran de Gràcia —with traffic closed—, there is some classical music playing. They have set up a small table in front of the display window with more glasses of cava ready and some savory pastries courtesy of the house. Locals and regular customers are arriving at the door of number 207 in waves. At times, the narrow premises are seen to be overflowing.

The trickle of faithful customers had already begun before 11 a.m., which was when the gathering had been called. The dozen or so tables are occupied. They don't stop serving. Cream puffs, cakes, fruit tarts, croissants, sandwiches, and bread. Some also order coffees. They are in a rush. Many customers know that, today, they have to take their breakfast to go.

The reason behind this closure is not precisely a lack of success. It's a lack of succession. Brothers Lluís and Miquel Àngel Álvarez represent the third generation of the family at the helm of the business. The first is retiring, and the second doesn't feel he has the heart to keep the business going alone, as they explained to ARA. For months, they have been trying to find someone to take it over and not let it die, but they haven't had any luck yet. For now, on the door of the pastry shop, they have hung a sign: "IDEALly forever"