Historic Malaga cafetería famous for its churros and snails closes after almost 100 years

The historic El Caracol cafetería in Malaga city's La Victoria district has just closed its doors after almost a century. Located in Calle Cristo de la Epidemia, the café has closed its doors due to the retirement of its owner.

El Caracol opened its doors in 1929 and was the oldest in the district ahead of its closure on Saturday 28 June. It specialised in snails (hence the name, El Caracol) and for years it was famous for having its own farm in an internal patio. Since 1970 it had been operating as a cafeteria and claimed to have the best churros in the whole area.

Many lifelong loyal customers flocked there to have their final coffee or churros with the owner on Saturday. It's a sad loss for the customers, some of whom would be there when the place opened at 5.45 am for breakfast and in particular its legendary churros.

At the head of the business was Luis Fernández, a restaurateur who has just turned 65. He considers that the time has come to rest and live life, something he has not been able to do for all the years he has been behind the bar (which he used to run with his brother Antonio, who died eight years ago).

The decision to close the bar has not been too difficult for him, as the he recognises that the district has changed a lot in recent times and that the business did not work as well as he would have liked. "Before, people used to live in the bar: they would go for coffee and watch TV, but all that has changed," he added with some nostalgia.

Although the date of opening is not entirely clear, the first references to the landmark business date back to 1930, when it appears for the first time in Valero Enfedaque's Anuario General de Málaga street directory (which was compiled a year earlier).

The business was opened by Francisco Rodríguez Merino and began operating as a tavern and snail farm. After this first stage, it was run by José Arza de Castro (grandfather of the former Malaga councillor Magdalena Álvarez). The Fernández family - who currently run different businesses in the city, including the Nerva or Araboka bars - took over the property in 1954.

El Caracol was a traditional local business that has remained anchored in time. "People told me that it was very classic and I told them that that's what you have to maintain," explained Luis, who grew up running around the bar.

Despite its traditional character, the business has undergone two major transformations: The first was in 1970, when a group of locals, including his father won the lottery and he invested the money (one million pesetas) into the business. At that time, Luis recalled, bars were popping up everywhere and they all served breakfasts and churros.

The second renovation came in 1992 when they won another lottery, this time from the ONCE charity, which allowed them to buy the building and extend the premises with an adjoining house. However, their churros were legendary and Luis recalls that "people came from all over the city" to buy theirs.