Fast-food giant McDonald’s has expanded its presence in the Barcelona metropolitan area, opening its third restaurant in Cornellà de Llobregat. The new location, which has created 40 jobs, has taken over a prominent 437-square-metre site that was home to the Italian restaurant La Tagliatella for 16 years.
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Situated at number 2 on the Carretera de Esplugues, the new establishment marks a significant shift in the local dining landscape. The move is part of the American chain’s broader expansion plan for the region, filling a gap in its coverage within the municipality. The transaction was handled by real estate consultancy aRetail, which highlighted the area’s commercial appeal.
“This operation underscores the dynamism of the retail market in an area with excellent connectivity and high commercial flow, making it a strategic and very attractive enclave,” aRetail noted in a statement.
A New ‘Fast-Food Triangle’ Emerges
The arrival of McDonald’s has instantly reshaped the immediate vicinity, forming what is now being called a ‘fast-food triangle’. The new restaurant sits directly beside a Telepizza and opposite a KFC, concentrating three major fast-food brands within metres of each other. This consolidation of quick-service options is likely to increase footfall in an area already undergoing significant change.
The location is directly across from the former Llobregat Centre, a shopping mall that closed its doors three years ago. The Cornellà City Council plans to revitalise the defunct commercial space, transforming it into a new residential zone. Interestingly, the KFC opposite the new McDonald’s is the last remaining business from the old shopping centre, a situation which, according to a report by Metrópoli Abierta, complicates the city’s redevelopment ambitions.
La Tagliatella’s Shifting Footprint
The closure marks the departure of the only La Tagliatella restaurant within Cornellà’s municipal boundaries. The Italian chain, known for its generous pasta and pizza dishes, had operated from the Carretera de Esplugues location since April 2010. This local retreat mirrors another high-profile closure for the brand earlier this year on Barcelona’s prestigious Avinguda Diagonal. After 16 years in the former Zurich building, that branch shut just a month after the property was sold to Banca March for a reported €40 million, part of a wider retail shift on the famous avenue that has also seen retailers like Kare Design close its flagship store.
Despite this closure, diners can still find the Italian chain at the nearby Splau shopping centre. However, the centre itself has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Cornellà and its neighbour, El Prat de Llobregat. A recent court ruling definitively placed the land occupied by Splau and the RCD Espanyol stadium within the boundaries of El Prat.
A Corporate Reshuffle
The changeover on Carretera de Esplugues is more complex than one brand simply replacing another. Since 2011, La Tagliatella has been part of the Polish restaurant group AmRest, a major European operator that also holds franchise rights for KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and Starbucks.
Thus, while one AmRest-owned brand, La Tagliatella, has departed, another, KFC, maintains a strong presence directly opposite. The dynamic illustrates a strategic realignment rather than a complete withdrawal from the area by the parent company. This trend of strategic expansion and relocation is reshaping Barcelona’s food scene, as seen with the aggressive growth of newcomers like the French bakery chain Marie Blachère across the city.
As Cornellà plans for a new residential future on the site of its old shopping mall, the solidification of a fast-food hub on its doorstep highlights the evolving commercial and urban fabric of Barcelona’s wider metropolitan area.
