A shoe shop that has been a fixture of the Sant Gervasi-Galvany neighbourhood since 1948 announced its closure, becoming the first local business to directly link its demise to the prolonged disruption from the L8 metro line extension works on Carrer de Muntaner.
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The Gola shoe store, a beloved local institution, posted a closing-down sign in its window on Wednesday. “I have to change it for a bigger one. And it should be in red. This one is too nice,” Marta Font, the shop’s owner since 1983, told La Vanguardia with a sad irony. While the term “historic” is often overused, Font’s business has a genuine claim to the title. It first opened its doors as a stationer’s in 1950 before Font took over from her parents and transformed it into the first Levi’s franchise in Spain. For the last 15 years, it has specialised in the British brand Gola, attracting a mix of loyal local customers and tourists.
However, the ongoing construction decimated the business’s crucial footfall. “It’s true that we have an important range of local customers, but they hardly pass through this battered street anymore. Neither them nor the tourist bus!” Font exclaimed.
A Healthy Business Undone
Crucially, Gola was not a business in decline. Font explained her store was experiencing a significant recovery after the pandemic. “In January 2025, we started to see a rebound we hadn’t felt since the pandemic: until June, we increased profits by around 30%,” she stated. However, the street closure at the start of summer halted that momentum.
“That 30% improvement vanished, and then it fell another 30%,” she explained. “In less than a year, that’s almost a 60% drop in turnover.” Consequently, the situation left her in a precarious position. “What really scares me is that even the liquidation sale might not work. Now I have to stretch everything as long as I can until my daughter finds a job. I won’t leave her on the street.”
While some other businesses in the area have shut down since the works began, most were already facing difficulties. However, Font’s shop is the first to unequivocally state the construction directly caused its closure. “Some businesses are going through crises due to changes in consumer habits,” she insisted. “But that wasn’t our case.”
A Project with No Local Benefit
The works are part of the major L8 line extension, a project managed by the Generalitat de Catalunya with a budget of over €400 million. Its aim is to connect Plaça Espanya with Gràcia, linking two major FGC train lines. However, the construction on this particular stretch of Carrer de Muntaner, between Laforja and Marià Cubí, is not for a new station but for an emergency exit tunnel.
Consequently, this has become a major point of contention for local retailers. “All public works are disruptive, but these are especially so because they offer no subsequent benefit to the neighbourhood,” merchants lament. Moreover, the lack of compensation for the disruption only intensifies their frustration, fostering a perception that the city’s business climate can be hostile to small enterprises.
Delays and Finger-Pointing
Furthermore, the project’s timeline creates significant anxiety. Works, previously halted for four months by an archaeologists’ strike, are now expected to continue until at least the beginning of 2027, a delay from the initial forecast of September 2026. This prolonged uncertainty hinders businesses from planning for the future.
When seeking support, such as tax exemptions, shop owners report facing bureaucratic run-arounds. According to those affected, officials from the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat “pass the buck between administrations.” The City Council contends that its hands are tied, as the Generalitat manages the project and Spanish law does not mandate compensation for public works.
Javier Cottet, vice-president of the business association Barcelona Oberta and owner of Ópticas Cottet, reported that his Muntaner store lost €40,000 last year. He previously warned of potential legal action to claim lost profits, but a lawsuit cannot be filed until the works are completed, and the completion date remains uncertain.
For now, the closing-down sign in Gola’s window stands as a stark symbol of the collateral damage being inflicted on Barcelona’s local commerce in the name of progress.
