El Kiosquito: the Malaga newsstand that has been transformed into a coffee shop at heart of the community
In addition to the traditional newspaper sales it offers speciality brews, homemade biscuits and a wide range of international magazines
Augusto, Maor and Fahd wanted to give a new life to the newsstand in their neighbourhood. The three friends decided to transform a traditional kiosk into a futuristic café where you can order speciality coffee while buying the daily newspaper.
The one in question is located in Plaza Lex Flavia, in the Victoria neighbourhood. It forms part of the last number of kiosks that Malaga city council's commerce department has put out to tender so that they can reopen under the rules of the new bylaw.
El Kiosquito offers speciality coffees, baked goods (mainly biscuits), newspapers and international magazines. In the near future, the three young entrepreneurs hope to be able to also offer fruit and vegetable juices. "Our aim is to create a community around the kiosk and the neighbourhood," they say.
The co-owners claim to have chosen this area for many reasons. They live in the neighbourhood and see the square as a meeting point where the university life of students and the more traditional residential life come together.
El Kiosquito opened on 11 September to "an impressive reception". "They are grateful that we have given life to the square, which was a bit abandoned," the friends say.
Augusto Gigli, who is the concession holder, says that they want to go beyond this initiative and ask the city council to give them the green light to organise cultural events in the square. "There are many similar kiosks in Europe and Spain and I think it could be a very interesting addition," he states.
New uses
El Kiosquito is one of the first establishments in Malaga to benefit from the uses granted by the new municipal bylaw. The permission to expand traditional newsstand services was one of the strongest demands of kiosk owners' association Akima.
Since January, licence holders have been able to incorporate services such as parcel collection, cinema and theatre ticket sales, photocopying, coffee and hot baked goods sales and ATM cash machines.
In addition, the new regulations have extended the concession period to a maximum of 30 years, instead of the 20 years established in the previous bylaw, in order to encourage the consolidation of more stable businesses and give owners more time to recoup the investments made.
