Legendary ice cream parlour in Malaga is up for sale for a cool one million euros

The legendary ice cream parlour Lauri - one of the icons of the Pedregalejo neighbourhood in Malaga city - is looking for a new owner. The premises located on Calle Bolivia are up for sale for 950,000 euros. Although the family owning the business refused to comment on the matter, SUR has confirmed that the intention is to close a deal at the end of the summer and that the parlour is already in the hands of at least a couple of real estate agents. Among the owners' conditions for the deal is that the current staff is kept.

The corner shop is equipped with a shop window, bar, storeroom and terrace. Located just two minutes from the beach, the ice cream parlour maintains its historic flavours: nougat, tutti frutti, toasted cream, chocolate, butter, lemon and strawberry cream. They also offer leche merengada, horchata, slushies and milkshakes, but little else. In contrast to the trend of incorporating dozens of flavours and products, Lauri remains faithful to the classic flavours that have made it a benchmark in the eastern part of Malaga, with few concessions to trends such as Kinder and pistachio.

Helados Lauri was established in Malaga in 1952 by Eliseo Lauri and Juana Brotons - a couple from the Alicante town of Ibi. The parlour has been part of the Pedregalejo landscape ever since, now in the hands of the couple's children - Consuelo, Gema and Juan. The family business began to supply the beach bars in the area with their classic flavours and won over hundreds of customers with recipes based on care and respect for the product. The strawberry ice cream, for example, is only made in season and they still cut the candied fruit of their iconic tutti frutti by hand. Through the years, Helados Lauri has been committed to the practices of a traditional ice cream parlour, where the production process and the product are more important than the innovation of flavours or summer trends.

Pedregalejo today looks very different to the way it did 73 years ago. When Lauri raised its shutters for the first time, it was in a neighbourhood of fishermen, humble dwellings and bicycles. Gone are the 600 pesetas that Don Eliseo and Doña Juana paid for their first rent. Now everything has changed. The family has stated that the Juan Sebastián Elcano shop - the first one they opened - will continue to offer Lauri's legendary ice creams and that the only establishment that has been put up for sale is the one on Calle Bolivia.