Salvador Vendrell, who left the presidency of Barcelona’s Gremi de Restauració eighteen months ago under unclear circumstances, has launched a rival organisation aimed at representing neighbourhood bars and restaurants. The new entity, Barcelona Restauració, was presented Tuesday at El Molino and emerges from Barcelona Comerç, the association of 24 commercial high streets that Vendrell previously led.
The move creates an alternative to the Gremi de Restauració, now headed by Núria Solà, co-owner of Bodega Sepúlveda restaurant, who took over in September. Roger Pallarols continues as director for another decade. Vendrell’s sudden departure from the Gremi was reportedly due to disagreements with Pallarols, though the full reasons remain murky.
Barcelona Restauració positions itself as the voice for local, neighbourhood-scale establishments, mirroring what Barcelona Comerç does for independent shops. Vendrell explained: ‘I was president of Barcelona Comerç for seven years and also of the Gremi de Restauració. That gave me a clear view of how important the neighbourhoods are. We detected that restaurants needed their own voice. Restaurateurs on commercial high streets were asking for specific attention. That’s why this entity was born, not to compete or overlap with anyone, but to add strength to the sector.’
The new group targets Barcelona’s estimated 10,000-plus bars and restaurants, pledging to represent them before local institutions. However, the launch hasn’t gone down well with the Gremi. Pallarols responded bluntly during a Gremi appearance: ‘Salva Vendrell reminds me of Enric Marco’, comparing Vendrell to the man who falsely claimed to have been in a Nazi concentration camp.
Pallarols added: ‘It’s a shame the entity has let itself be instrumentalised by Salva Vendrell. Some people have wanted to feed confusion. What’s being presented isn’t remotely a guild and has nothing to do with the Gremi de Restauració de Barcelona. It’s Barcelona Comerç, an entity entirely subsidised with public money.’
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