Shops linked to marijuana culture are making their way to the main streets of Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. This is another example of the commercial monoculture associated with the mass tourism that affects this part of the city so much, another manifestation of the decline of the commercial fabric of the city center. All this is the result of a storm. Mix in a cocktail shaker real estate pressure, municipal restrictions on the opening of many businesses, the laws of supply and demand and a fistula virus and you will see how...
These cannabis-related product shops are no longer confined to the less juicy side streets. Before the pandemic, there were none on La Rambla, and now there are six. In Ferran there are also a couple of openings in this strange era, and in his appendix of Jaume I, a third. And in Portaferrissa, Comtal and Pi there are four more, also recent. And in all the Gothic, about twenty.
One of the pioneers of this sector is the businessman Kumar Ramchandani. A few years ago he set up a couple of stalls, mainly of earrings and piercings, and also cannabis-related products, in the gallery known as El Camello. But the pandemic ended this renowned Gothic establishment. Really, then, it had been years since El Camello had been languishing and declining.
"Therefore, I set up a shop for cannabis-related products in Ferran, next door, and later, as it went well for me, because the audience of these shops is getting wider, with a partner I went open two more on the Rambla... And now, well, a few days ago I opened this other one, because the truth is that you can't open anything else in the center of Barcelona. Between the rents and the City Council's restrictions, it's only worth opening this kind of business".
"Eight thousand euros a month, plus VAT, for this quartet...", emphasizes Ramchandani, showing the small place, among pipes, seeds, electronic cigarettes, air fresheners, sweets and many more items related to cannabis. Does anyone seriously think they can pay rent like that by selling loaves of bread? In any case, none of the products for sale here are toxic. And some of these shops look like luxury real estate, and others, gift, toy and sweet shops, and many are so overloaded that one fears that one will have an epileptic attack...
"If I could set up a bar, yes... - continues Ramchandani, on the other side of the counter -. But the City Council is very strict. They also don't let you sell takeaway food. And I also worked in the souvenir sector, but lately the pressure from the inspectors is constant. For them, everything Barcelona wears, even a Barça shirt, is a souvenir, and they don't stop coming to inspect you. They really only let you open t-shirt shops, but there are already so many... Right now the only thing worth opening in the center are cannabis shops”.
Lifelong traders bemoan the proliferation of these shops, after the T-shirt shops with illustrations of Snow White snorting cocaine. Lluís Manuel, from the Toni Pons shoe store, a family business from the 1960s, says that these establishments scare off quality tourism, and also the people of the city. "They prefer to go shopping in other areas. In addition, because these stores pay such high rents, they increase real estate pressure on the rest. They become a wild card for the owners. We have no room for maneuver. We are up to our necks in water. The truth is that I don't understand."
"We are the owners of our premises - says Ángela Calvet, of Calpa handbags, another family business with five decades in the Gòtic... city But the spirit of the old town was already damaged. We are attracting people who are not interested. The pandemic accelerated this degradation". "They are prostituting the center of the city - says Enric Moj, from Belles Artes Ferran, very angry. Here what they do is launder money, and the administrations do nothing to prevent it. We are losing part of Barcelona's heritage, and it seems to be the same". "El Gòtic is losing its uniqueness, its identity, its history..." laments Barnacentre, the main association of traders in the neighbourhood.
The iconic La Estrella pharmacy operated there. The disagreements about the rent put an end to a story that had begun in 1840. "We are respecting the floors, the shelves and the signs - says Ramchandani-. Five months of procedures with the City Council! But I couldn't take it anymore. We opened this weekend, to take advantage of the appeal of Easter... It's 8,000 euros plus VAT!".
Anyway. Ramchandani will still have to wait a little longer to settle the scores. Municipal sources say that these circumstances do not excuse it for opening without all the permits. "This business opened without an activity or works license applied for. The district of Ciutat Vella studies the taxable measures and requests that they carry out the corresponding procedures. In the meantime, it will have to close." Therefore, number 7 of Ferran yesterday afternoon, after taking advantage of the momentum of Easter, closed again. This is how the inspectors found the store when they went to make sure of it.
