Alicante’s economic environment includes shopping centres, supermarkets, flea markets, and neighbourhood markets. However, trends and social developments have gradually changed this offering. Some neighbourhoods still feature food arcades, where small doors lead to spacious rooms filled with vegetable booths, delicatessens, butchers, and fishmongers.
Although many of these galleries have lost popularity in recent years, some have managed to reinvent themselves in order to remain appealing. Galerías Churruca, for example, has successfully transitioned from a typical market to a culinary destination. Some venues, like Galerías Canalejas or Inmaculada del Pla, have reversed their decline by focusing on diversification and new activities.
San Miguel Market in Alicante
The Churruca galleries are extremely popular. After years of food booths disappearing, the hotel business gradually took over the space, and by 2025, the entire space had been turned into restaurants.
In this enclave, restaurants such as Alma and El Mincho, who are local veterans and specialise in fusion cuisine with components from Alicante and other areas of the world, coexist alongside a cocktail bar, a Cadiz restaurant, and a charcuterie and wine bar. The menu is extensive and diverse, and it is impossible to acquire a table on weekends without a reservation.
Eduardo, a regular customer who shares a seat with friends at La Kioska, a restaurant that specialises in gildas, says, “We come here a lot because we feel so comfortable, and you can stop for a snack in several places.”
“We’ve witnessed the transition happen slowly. All of the establishments benefit from a high level of synergy. People enter in one door and try everything before exiting through the other, which benefits everyone,” says Andrés Britos, chef of Mincho.
From Zumba to restaurants
The galleries of Inmaculada del Pla face a totally different predicament. Until recently, stalls would hang ‘For Sale’ signs for months without replacing them.
This pattern has started to shift recently, owing in part to the appeal of diversifying the offering. This restaurant sells meat and fish, but it also has a hair salon and a tattoo parlour, which will open soon. The establishment also sponsors activities like Zumba, culinary courses, and live music, which have rejuvenated the venue.
“They recently opened a fish market and a Colombian restaurant,” says Juan Lesmes, a server at El Palmito, one of the galleries’ bars. The appeal of the eateries is one of the driving causes behind the transformation. Customers at places like Juan’s can make their purchase at one of the stalls and have it served immediately away, with the freshest vegetables available: from the counter to the table. This move has garnered them a dedicated following, and reservations are required on weekends.
Luis, from the Hermanos Sirvent fruit business, has been selling at this stall for 42 years and admits that the bulk of his clients are elderly. However, he notes that on weekends, he observes an increase in the number of younger customers. The merchants in these arcades consider the new tenants from different industries as a chance to make themselves known, and they believe that, at least in this case, diversification attracts new clients.
Shopping ‘as usual’
Canalejas galleries on Portugal Street witnessed the neighbourhood’s development firsthand. The proximity of other businesses, as well as the relocation of younger clients to other parts of the city, have resulted in a decreasing trend in recent years. However, this location has managed to reverse the trend, as merchants report an increasing number of clients preferring to shop at their stalls.
In fact, merchants concur that there is interest in the available locations. “The delicatessen closed because it retired, but a lot of people are coming to see it, and it won’t be long before it’s occupied,” explains Carmen Cánovas of Caturla.
María, from the delicatessen, concedes that they aren’t selling as much as before but are still doing well. The fruit and vegetable shop also mentions that young people are becoming more interested in local business. Javier Moñinos, the fishmonger, believes that events like wine and beer tastings at the newly reopened tavern are crucial for success.
Customers such as Tamara, a Georgian resident of Alicante, shop at these galleries on a daily basis. María, who has been a customer for over 40 years, praises the quality of the products and the salesmen.
Author: Derek Appleton
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