The San Miguel Market, one of Madrid’s gastronomic icons alongside the Plaza Mayor, has been closed since January 7 and will remain closed for heritage conservation work with no confirmed reopening date. Redevco, the real estate management company that acquired it in 2017, refers to a “temporary” closure, but the official message is clear: it will only reopen when major structural work is completed, and for the moment, no one dares to give a date.
The market announced that its doors will remain closed for improvement and conservation work on the century-old iron and glass building, which opened as a food market in 1916 and was converted into a gastronomic space aimed mainly at tourism in 2009. The message to customers and neighbors insists that this is a necessary pause to “take care of the heritage that unites us and protect its legacy,” without specifying the duration of the work.
Structural work and possible underground expansion
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Behind the closure lies more than just a cosmetic renovation. This is the third phase of a structural consolidation plan that already had two previous stages in 2024 and 2025 and seeks to reinforce the pillars, roofs, and unique iron structure of the market. These actions have been licensed by the City Council and are essential to ensure the safety and conservation of a building that in 2023 had to be evacuated and cordoned off by the police due to damage to the structure of the building following an inspection by the Madrid City Council.
In addition, the asset is awaiting municipal permits for a possible underground extension that would add some 168 square meters, which, according to the company, will be used for logistics and service purposes. This extension would require new works and procedures, which also helps to understand why, beyond the “very soon” in the statement, no one wants to commit to a specific reopening date.
A local icon undergoing a business transformation
The closure coincides with significant changes in the market’s ownership. The Dutch firm Redevco is finalizing the purchase of 75% of the asset that still belongs to the Ares fund, which would allow it to take over 100% of the San Miguel Market in a transaction valued at more than €200 million. Since 2017, both partners have operated the space as a gastronomic market, with more than twenty food, delicatessen, and restaurant stalls offering everything from Iberian ham and Galician seafood to rice dishes, cheeses, and wines from different regions.
The combination of structural reform and change of ownership points to a comprehensive “overhaul” of the project, which could reopen 100% dedicated to tourism and without a hint of what this market originally was for the capital.