Confiserie La Giralda is in crisis and its owner puts it on sale

Marcelo Nodrid, current owner of the remarkable coffee
The Giralda, in Corrientes 1453, has spent most of the morning today rebutting to its customers the rumor about the impending closure of the premises. However, he admitted that the coffee is for sale and that there would soon be a change of signature, although the traditional name is retained.

"Sales do not give to cover expenses," explained Nodrid, who runs the premises from January, when she inherited from a grandmother's aunt. His family has owned La Giralda since 1952, although the place opened in the late 1930s.

Since January, four boys have left their jobs and there are only two left. Nodrid attributes the difficulties to the general economic situation, added to the fact that the pedestrianization works of Corrientes Avenue have complicated the usual circulation of the public. "It's the straw that broke the camel's back," he said of the work. Indeed, right in front of the Giralda, people have to walk in a narrow corridor between fences. "People are trying to get out of the claustrophobic corridor as quickly as possible and to pbad without entering the premises," he lamented.

Although, for years, the place was one of the remains of the bohemian Buenos Aires, the clientele is mainly composed of lawyers who haunt neighboring courts and people who come to learn traditional chocolate with churros, specialty of the site.

The critical situation of La Giralda adds to other places located in the same block of Corrientes that this year had to close, such as the centenary candy maker Golden Lion (who moved to Tucuman at 1700 ) or the cafe and restaurant La Martona, who lowered the blind a month ago after almost 20 years of activity. Also in this block, the bookstall that Fernando Martínez participates in for 40 years may soon close. "It's catastrophic: nothing is sold," he complained and calculated that his debacle had begun two years ago. "I'm seriously thinking of leaving," he admitted.