The Glòries works empty terraces and complicate the day-to-day running of businesses

The impact is especially noticeable at establishments with terraces around the square and on Diagonal Avenue. Businesses like Wapa or Carlu have seen some of the activity that used to take place outside move indoors, or disappear altogether when the disruption from the construction works is at its worst.

Breakfast time is particularly sensitive. In an area with many offices and passing workers, much of the clientele is looking for speed. Pedestrian detours and the works mean some people prefer to change their route or choose another establishment rather than cross the affected area.

Es Bien, a speciality café located opposite the Glòries shopping centre, has had to consolidate its business while much of the surrounding area has been undergoing transformation. Its location relies heavily on the workers and pedestrians who cross this axis daily between Diagonal, the shopping centre, and Poblenou.

A similar situation is being felt by restaurants on nearby streets, such as Umaimon Tonkotsu Ramen. The loss of convenience when moving around the area and the constant presence of construction work are affecting a zone that normally benefits from a high flow of local residents, employees, and visitors.

Not all businesses are affected in the same way. Spaces that are destinations in themselves, like Mirador Torre Glòries, are less dependent on spontaneous foot traffic: those who buy a ticket come specifically to visit the building. For bars and cafés that rely on passing trade, however, losing part of the pedestrian flow can have a much more immediate effect.

This situation coincides with a new phase of works on Gran Via and the tram. On Monday, 14 September, line T4 resumed its full route between Verdaguer y Sant Adrià de Besòs, after the summer closures. Lines T5 y T6, however, are still affected between Glòries y Sant Martí de Provençals while work continues.

The works aim to remove the old single-track section, increase tram capacity, and complete the urban development of Gran Via between Badajoz y Bilbao. Construction will continue in phases until spring 2027, so the area will still have to live with machinery and changes to mobility for months to come.

Glòries is also facing other projects linked to its transformation as an interchange. Among them is the new L1 concourse, which will directly connect the metro station with the ground floor of Disseny Hub Barcelona, covering about 380 square metres and designed as the first direct access from the metro to the interior of a public facility in the city.

For local businesses, the challenge is getting through this transition. The transformation promises more public space and better connections when it is finished, but during the works, it is the establishments that depend on daily footfall that feel most immediately the cost of detours, noise, and an urban landscape still under construction.