Mallorca’s capital Palma has lost quite a few well-established businesses in recent months – many of them traditional cafés, bars, or bakeries. We said goodbye to Café Lírico in spring 2017 and, later, Bar Cristal in Plaça d’Espanya closed; the latter had been founded in 1930 and managed by the same family since 1955. Over the past decade, more than 30 bakeries in Palma have shut their doors for good. 2017’s closures included El Forn (mallorquín for oven) des Paners, Pasteleria Llull, and Forn d’es Teatre (probably one of the most-photographed shop fronts in the city).

One of many bakeries to close its doors

Palma’s changing commercial centre

Reasons for the closure of these family-owned businesses include retirement (with no younger members of the family willing to continue the business), growth in supermarket shopping (impacting on traditional bakeries), and – the biggie – increased commercial property rents. International chains including Starbucks and McDonald’s have opened in the city (sadly, IMHO) and, recognizing that the Big Boys are prepared to pay top dollar (or euro) for a presence in Palma, some commercial property owners have hiked up rents to the extent that it’s no longer viable for some local traders to continue in business.

Traditional details in Can Joan de s’Aigo’s C/ de Sans premises

Local business bucking the trend

People saddened by the increasing loss of traditional local businesses in Mallorca’s capital have welcomed the opening of another branch of Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo (founded here in the 18th century). The company’s third café/bakery/ice-cream parlour has opened in Palma, in an architecturally interesting building that once housed the emblematic El Triquet bar but, more recently, a fashion store.  Its prime location on the corner of the Avenidas (inner ring road) and C/ Sindicat gives it more visibility than its existing branches in C/ de Sans and Baró de Santa Maria del Sepulcre.

Read more about the business Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo and its branch in C/ de Sans here.

©Jan Edwards Updated 2018