Popular Malaga teashop that has served customers for 32 years is set to close at end of the year

The Tetería San Agustín in the street of the same name in Malaga city centre has been a popular teashop for almost 32 years. But in December this year, just as it would be celebrating its 32nd anniversary, La Tetería will be forced to close.

A new owner has acquired the building and plans to set up a different business in the premises, as the ten-year contract that La Tetería had signed with the previous owners, an investment fund from which a foreign family has now bought the property, comes to an end on 31 December.

Alejandro Camacho, founder and manager of La Tetería, together with his partner Dirk, had been thinking for some time about alternatives for the future in view of the possibility that one day they would have to leave the current premises on Calle San Agustin, just a stone's throw from the Picasso museum.

"I've been looking at premises, but the rental prices are only affordable for franchises and large companies," explains the manager of La Tetería, who, once this idea was discarded, went for a plan B: to try to negotiate with a hotel group to sell the business so that the name would not be lost.

"I would like it to have continuity, so I tried to get someone to take over the brand. I even met with some business people, but they told me that coffee shops are not profitable," he explains.

Another was to move to a district outside the city centre. "I've also thought about it but, honestly, after giving it a lot of thought, I don't see it as viable. We have always been in a central street, and outside of here I don't think it would work the same way. People go to a district to eat, but not to have a cup of tea," says Camacho with a certain impotence.

He even thought of taking La Tetería to Los Montes de Málaga: "From my own experience I know that there are many people who go there by bike or for a walk and hiking, so I had this romantic idea of setting up there, in an old inn, as a place to relax and enjoy a coffee, tea or juice away from the noise, but it didn't convince us because it wouldn't be stable all year round," he says.

He still has a small thread of hope that over the next six months the new owner may change their plans or that someone willing to keep the name of La Tetería in another location, or at least financially support him to do it himself, may appear. He is worried about the 18 people who make up the team, "some of whom have been there for more than twenty years".

"We are already a family", acknowledges the founder of La Tetería. He describes it as "a European café specialising in teas that was a pioneer in Malaga and has for three decades been a meeting place for Malaga locals and visitors alike.

For the moment, La Tetería continues to offer its homemade menu, from breakfast to morning coffee or afternoon tea with a choice of around fifteen cakes, crepes and pastries. There are more than 150 types of teas, a variety of fresh juices and smoothies, and craft beers. If it doesn't survive beyond December, Alejandro Camacho is clear that he will close the same way as he opened: with a party.