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Malaga city's Victoria district has just lost one of its most beloved businesses. The iSamoa cafeteria, known to all as Samoa, has closed its doors following the retirement of its owner. The business had been open for 58 years at number 1 Calle Compás de la Victoria.
Samoa was one of the first businesses to offer catering services in the city. Heir to the famous pastry shop Viena, it was opened by Miguel Escamilla after he closed his cake business in the centre. Since his retirement, more than three decades ago, it has been run by four partners who had previously been employees at the café and who have also been retiring until only one remained.
The café was very popular in the 1980s and 90s when customers from all over the province and even from abroad came to visit it. It was also a regular haunt for local footballers and artists, who were attracted by the high quality of its products.
Samoa was, in fact, one of the most emblematic cafés in Malaga. As mentioned above, it was one of the first to introduce a catering service and prepared all kinds of specialities in canapé format for the Christmas holidays. Among them were the famous 'andresitos', made with sliced bread, mayonnaise, cooked ham and asparagus. The pork loin with rum, salmon, caviar and Russian salad canapés were also very popular. During those years, there was even a deli and sweet shop.
The popular establishment was already on the verge of closing in 2015, when its owners even put up 'for sale' signs. That decision, which caused a huge uproar in the district, came about when two of the four owners decided to retire. The café began to close earlier and decided to specialise in breakfast, a service they maintained until the café finally closed.
The premises will be occupied in the coming months by Damián Caneda, a business owner from Malaga. At the moment he has not decided whether he will keep the name iSamoa, but he wants to keep its essence. At the moment he is working on the initial sketches and applying for all the necessary permits, as the premises will have to undergo a major refurbishment.
Caneda recognises that the place brings back many memories, as his grandmother used to live on the first floor and he has often ate Samoa's canapés at Christmas. "When I found out that it was going to be vacant, I didn't think twice about it because it really touches my sentimental side," he explained.
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