La Mercería Tarragona announces its closure in June and puts the historic Santa Eugènia premises up for sale

Mercería Tarragona, opened in 1917 in Gràcia, announces its definitive closure. The premises, witness to generations and memories, is pulling down its shutters because of retirement. The neighbourhood’s traditional trade continues to lose landmarks. Online sales and high rents make survival difficult.

The closure of Mercería Tarragona marks a new blow for those who feel that Gràcia is a neighbourhood of shops with soul. After more than a hundred years on Santa Eugènia street, this small shop, opened in 1917, will stop serving local residents who for decades have crossed its threshold in search of buttons, thread and, above all, friendliness.

The decision comes with the retirement of the owning family, which has kept the business going generation after generation. The current manager, Vivian Cartes, acknowledges that the shop has evolved, but that tradition and family treatment are no longer enough to compete with online sales and low prices. The premises and building, which they own, will be put up for sale after the closure planned for June.

On social media, many customers have shared personal memories linked to the haberdashery: from those who went hand in hand with their mothers to buy stockings, to those who highlight that old-fashioned shop atmosphere where time seemed to stop. Today, Mercería Tarragona operates only with family staff and retains intact the feel of shops from times gone by.

The farewell to this establishment adds to a worrying list of closures around the Mercat de la Llibertat. A few metres away, the Calçats Conesa shoe shop, founded in 1880, pulled down its shutters after 145 years. Ferretería Camps, with almost a century of history, and Forn Santa Clara, with eight decades, have also recently disappeared, victims of unaffordable rents and pressure from digital commerce.

Mercería Tarragona did not only sell sewing products: it was a meeting point where stories and relationships between generations were woven. Its disappearance leaves a void in Gràcia’s everyday life that is difficult to fill.

Traditional haberdasheries have for decades been a pillar of life in Barcelona neighbourhoods. Beyond their commercial function, these spaces have served as places for meeting and passing knowledge between local women, dressmakers and families. In Gràcia, Mercería Tarragona represented that spirit of proximity and trust, where every customer was known by name and every purchase formed part of a shared story. The loss of these shops also means the disappearance of a social and cultural network that has given the city its identity.

Updated: 5 March 2026, 19:20

The DondeGo editorial team has updated this information with the reasons for and timetable of the closure: the retirement of the owning family and the plan to pull down the shutters in June, as well as the sale of the premises on Santa Eugènia street. The article reflects a visible urban change in Gràcia, where rents and online competition are accelerating the disappearance of local commerce.