It was the café where Pío Baroja, Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, Camilo José Cela, Antonio Buero Vallejo and Camen Martín Gaite held their literary gatherings. It has become an emblem of Madrid’s cultural life and now it is in new hands, which will be refurbished and reopened in January.
It is the famous Café Gijón in Madrid, located at number 21 Paseo de Recoletos and founded by the Asturian Gumersindo Gómez in 1888. The establishment has been acquired by the Cappuccino Group, a Spanish company that runs high-end restaurants in large cities throughout the country (Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Marbella and the Balearic Islands).
Following the acquisition, advised by the real estate consulting firm Busquets Gálvez, Grupo Cappuccino has closed the historic café on a temporary basis, in order to carry out a refurbishment and reopen its doors in January. “The Café de Gijón will retain the essence that has accompanied it throughout its history,” the new owners announced in a statement from the real estate consultant.
More than 135 years of history
Since its inauguration, the place attracted the gatherings of literary greats such as Benito Pérez Galdós and Ramón María del Valle Inclán. Over time, it changed ownership and appearance but maintained its prestige. Federico García Lorca, Fernando Fernán Gómez or Luis Buñuel, among many others, also passed through the famous marble tables of Café Gijón.
The last family to run it was the Escamilla family, who took the reins in 1997. Gregorio Escamilla was at the helm until 2009, when his son José Manuel took over. The new changes will come through the Cappuccino Group and can be seen next January.
The café turned into a literary award
Due to its trajectory as a cultural epicenter, the Café Gijón has been honored through a literary award that bears its name. It was created by the writer and actor Fernando Fernán Gómez in 1949 and is the Café Gijón Award for short novels, which has been maintained to this day.
It has been organized by the City Council of Gijón since 1989 and awards its winner with 20,000 euros, in addition to the publication of the work. This year, the winner was the Catalan writer Marc Colell, with his work Las crines.