Restaurant Can Joanet

Our next destination is in Barceloneta. There we found Restaurant Can Joanet, a humble bar that born in one of the many shacks of the area. Initially, Can Joanet’s shack, as many others, became a tavern for lowly people. This kind of establishments were called puda, probably because the reek coming from them (in Catalan, puda sounds similar to pudor that is to say “bad smell”).

In late nineteenth century, Joan Pasqual i Senserric, a man who proceeded from a rural area near Barcelona, opened Can Joanet. Fishermen and sailors frequent the tavern. There they could found homemade liquors and toasted coffee by the Joan himself. Bit by bit, the clientele was changing: it became fashionable on leaving Liceu. Many wealthy gentlemen used to go after the spectacle. For this reason, the owner, worried about the new costumers, adapted the establishment: he bought new crockery and enclosed the cats that roamed freely by Can Joanet. As sailors, as cats and gentlemen went there to taste the fish, the speciality of the restaurant.

The place was gaining increasing fame and, with it, clients were different. With the expansion in the decades of 1920s and 30s, Can Joanet employed new waiters, more refined. It became the most category restaurant of Barceloneta. In there were usual political banquets, weddings and communions. Linked to the press sector, Can Joanet was the meeting point of very important people. For example, was famous the repast dedicated to Francesc Macià in 1933.

As many others in Barcelona, the Civil War changed all. Can Joanet was collectivized. It was usual that militiamen went to the restaurant with a coupon. They said “vale para dos comidas para un compañero y una compañera antifascistas” (voucher for two meals for a companion and a fellow antifascists).

Civil War was too hard for the restaurant. Fascists bombed a lot this part of the city because of its humble nature and rebelliousness to the coup. The shortage of food nearly finishes with Can Joanet. Nevertheless, 20 years of scarcities didn’t close it. Withstand the passing of time, Can Joanet could recover, but now with anonymous clients only.