Visitors to San Gabriel cemetery in Málaga are expected to have a new café and restaurant option by the end of the year. The municipal company Parcemasa has awarded a 42-square-metre premises to Suma Restauración y Catering, following a tender for the site.
The business is expected to open in late November or early December, according to the discovery report. Before trading can begin, the successful bidder must complete refurbishment work. The report says businesses awarded premises at the cemetery could start operating about a month after that work is completed.
The new outlet is intended to provide an alternative to the vending-machine room that has served visitors since the former café closed. People attending funerals and wakes at the cemetery have since had access to drinks and basic food from vending machines, rather than a staffed café.
The previous café shut on 31 July last year after almost 40 years. Its closure followed a financial dispute that has prevented renewal of the concession. The dispute remains tied up in insolvency proceedings involving the company that had operated the service; the discovery report puts its outstanding debt to Social Security authorities at around €800,000.
Parcemasa received interest from 39 companies for the tender, with 13 completing the process, the report says. In selecting Suma Restauración y Catering, the council considered factors including experience, proposed opening hours, how quickly the business could begin operating and its suitability for the setting.
The rent for the café premises is set at €26 per square metre. The tender also covered two adjoining premises, awarded to Marina Flor for a flower shop at €30 per square metre. That outlet, too, will need refurbishment before it can open.
For cemetery visitors, the practical change will depend on the work being completed on schedule. Until the new businesses begin trading, the vending-machine room remains the reported food and drink provision at San Gabriel.