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JUAN SOTO
MALAGA.
Friday, 29 November 2024, 18:41
The iconic El Chinitas restaurant in Malaga's Calle Moreno Monroy, just off Calle Larios, is to close its doors at the end of the year after four decades of service to locals and visitors alike. The popular establishment will be replaced by a Spanish-owned sushi chain.
El Chinitas is one of the longest-open restaurant businesses in the city centre. It opened its doors in 1986 and since then it has been a regular stop for locals and tourists. It was opened by José Sánchez Rosso, a well-known restaurateur in the city, and is currently run by his son Ángel, who in recent years has managed to give it a new direction.
The restaurant covers three floors and employs 17 people. The closure is not because the business is going badly but because the owner intends to start new business projects and has no successor to continue the family tradition, he explains.
From next year, the building will be occupied by Japanese fusion-food chain Sushita, a company with eight restaurants in Madrid.
Sources have said that the upcoming business will also have a small display for the sale of tableware by Eugenia&Sushita, a brand owned by the aristocrat and designer Eugenia Martínez de Irujo (who is also one of the partners in the restaurant group).
El Chinitas is one of the most traditional businesses still open in the city. Until his death, it was the second home of the Malaga-born comedian Chiquito de la Calzada. Since 2019 there has been a bust of the comedian in the restaurant, created by Sevillian artist Juan Manuel Miñarro.
All kinds of local and international artists have passed through its doors, including the scientist Severo Ochoa, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, as well as politicians, actors and famous sports personalities.
El Chinitas takes its name from the nearby Pasaje de Chinitas alleyway where the founder (who passed away in March last year) grew up. In fact, when he decided to open a restaurant, he wanted to transmit the essence of that area of the city, which was the cradle of artists and singers. In fact the walls of the restaurant still proudly display a huge painting dedicated to flamenco artist Juan Breva and another of the singer La Paula.
The restaurant was one of the first in the city to open every day of the week and to bring life to the centre on Sundays, when there were very few customers. Although it had an important local clientele, over the last few years it had become a popular place with tourists and groups of visitors thanks to its traditional Malaga cuisine.
Once the restaurant closes, the question remains as to what will happen to the numerous works of art inside. The owner's intention is to offer the bust of Chiquito to Malaga council for it to be placed somewhere in the city. He also wants the rest of the paintings to be exhibited in a museum or historical place so the legacy of El Chinitas can live on.
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