Bar Royal: 35 years of history comes to an end

Miriam Triay / Ciutadella – More than three decades surround the Royal bar located in Federico Pareja square or, as many have called it more than once, the Royal square. 35 years in which the Cleofé family -specifically, and since 17 years ago, Virginia, daughter of the founder, Dolfo Cleofé-, has been part of the daily routine of the neighbors, workers and friends of the area. Offering a safe space where to be and create a community of people. And whether it’s for festivals like San Juan, or in everyday life, the people of Ciutadella have seen the Royal. A familiar and close neighborhood bar, but tomorrow, Sunday 24 December, it will definitively close its doors.

EVERYONE’S BAR

It was March 1988 when the father of the family and founder, Dolfo Cleofé, decided to take charge of a new business. Specifically, of a place, already set up to be a bar, but which had not yet been opened, owned by the well-known Joan Ignasi Balada.

“I named it Bar Royal because, at that time, and when I was still a shoemaker, I used to go a lot around Barcelona, and there was a hotel called Royal on Las Ramblas. An establishment that had always caught my attention. And when I had to decide the number of my business, I had it clear”, he says. So, and although many have been able to think, at some point, that the number has a relationship with the owners of the premises until half a year ago, the kings of Spain -. Balada left the bar as an inheritance in the monarchy – it had absolutely nothing to do with it.

A new establishment, and it was very well received by the neighborhood and the workers in the surrounding area. That they already had a bar where they could go or take a break. “Although at that time it was not common to meet people in bars at all hours, as it is now; Yes, people from the surrounding area used to come. To the point where we created a new family”, explains Sergi Cleofé, the owner’s son.

ADAPT TO THE TIMES

I was born with many ideas to explore, like wanting to train as an ice cream bar, or as a hamburger bar when it was not yet common, it always ended up being a family and cozy cafe, which, offering tapas and, nowadays, also pizzas and other varieties of food , always stood out for its proximity to the town. Never adapting, in any case, to tourism and its expansion.

“The bar still has people who have accompanied us since its opening,” says Sergi. “He has always maintained himself with his own clients, the ones from here. It’s a typical neighborhood bar, it’s never focused beyond offering close service”, adds Dolfo Cleofé, son of the owner and Sergi’s brother.

Always maintaining the family essence, then, the bar has been evolving and adapting to the times, just like the rest. Thus, when Federico Pareja’s own square was born – before it was two streets, with a driveway for vehicles in the middle -, it became an ante and ante después for the establishment. “If before we only had three tables that occupied the space of a parking lot, and that were very close to the cars that passed or parked; now we had a pedestrian plaza, huge, with enough space so that people could sit quietly without worrying about other vehicles”, explains Dolfo son.

In this sense, they also highlight how previously terraces were not a common preference among clients, as they are now. And much less in winter, when they remember to store all the terrace material, tables and chairs, inside. It wasn’t until 2005, with the anti-smoking law, that many of the neighbors and regular customers preferred to be outside and chill. And the terraces became a regular bar throughout the year.

In addition, father and sons also highlight the evolution of the client. As has already been said, contrary to today, in the late 80s and early 90s “almost everyone worked. You didn’t see people in the bars, as you can now, at any time. Before, people who worked or lived next door came to have a quick drink. But very few people came during working hours”. Thus, it was normal to have workers or neighbors to drink coffee in the morning or at noon, and some in the evening to drink some beer. But it wasn’t as common as it is now, they say.

THE HISTORY OF A BAR

As you can see, the Royal bar is part of the town’s history, having experienced key moments for both the residents and the restaurant business. Like, for example, the appearance of a pedestrian square where there used to be a road, or not being able to smoke in closed establishments.

Thus, maintaining the same family and personal atmosphere, adapting to the current times, the Royal bar has always accompanied its public by being a cafe, but also offering the typical tapas of the town. At one point, in fact, and as they remember, they came to have a star product cooked by their mother, na Margarita, for which people went there: trunelles de be.

A story full of laughter and emotions, accompanied by the tradition of a town, and with many anecdotes to tell… like when Dolfo, the father and founder, saved a business, on Royal Street itself, from burning down, or, until and all, in its own Royal bar… Which, next Sunday, December 24, comes to an end. “After 17 years, na Virginia, our sister, has decided that she no longer wants to continue. Among other things, because the establishment has been sold to a new owner, and the rent he was asking for was higher”, say the brothers, Sergi and Dolfo.

35 years of experiences and village life, 18 of which Dolfo Cleofé was at the head of, to pass it on, in 2006 and for the next 17 years, to his daughter, Virginia. A long and full career, accompanied by several workers, who have also ended up being part of the family, “such as na Ruth, na Gemma, na Juana, na Caro, na Clara and na Sedes, among others”. Which ended up culminating in a party, a farewell meeting, held last December 16, and which will be held again today, Saturday 23, coinciding with the happy and melodic moment of Christmas. “Bar Royal is one of those neighborhood bars, which have always accompanied people; of these bars that will be missed”.