Floristería Soriano, located on Avenida Gaudí for 50 years, is closing after receiving a €3,000 fine for a display that protrudes 30 centimetres. The owner denounces the lack of viable alternatives.
Floristería Soriano, a local shop situated on Avenida Gaudí, very close to the Sagrada Família, will close after half a century of operation. The trigger has been a €3,000 fine imposed by the Barcelona City Council for a display that protrudes 30 centimetres from the façade, a violation of the urban landscape ordinance that the council has begun to enforce rigorously in the area.
The owner, who prefers to remain anonymous, explained that the notification from the Eixample district gives him one month to begin the removal works of the element. In case of non-compliance, the administration warns of the imposition of repeated coercive fines of up to €3,000 each, with the filing of an appeal not halting the process.
The merchant commissioned surveys on the façade to assess the necessary works. The estimated budget exceeds €50,000, an unaffordable amount for a family business like this. The district offered a grant for the renovations, but the approval process, as they were informed, would take at least four months, a timeline incompatible with the urgency of the fine.
Faced with this situation, the owner decided to move the business to his other shop in Granollers. However, the property owner has informed him that he will not authorise the transfer unless the irregularity on the façade is rectified first. “The only remedy I have left is to undertake more ambitious works, perhaps costing €150,000, and turn the shop into a business more for tourists,” he laments.
The inspection campaign on Avenida Gaudí is part of the declaration of the area as a High Traffic Space, which has led the City Council to intensify controls over license uses, labour contracts, and urban landscape elements. According to Marta Izquierdo from Cal Sardà, another affected business, the inspections were carried out “without prior notice.”
The urban landscape ordinance, in effect since the late 1990s, regulates aspects such as the height of awnings, the lighting of displays, and the placement of signs. Until now, its enforcement had been lax, but in the vicinity of the Sagrada Família, it has become strict. Sector sources indicate that thousands of businesses in Barcelona violate some of these rules, but only a few have received fines.
The case of Floristería Soriano has generated discontent among local merchants, who consider the measure disproportionate. “It’s an example of how bureaucracy can end a lifelong business,” states a spokesperson for the Eixample merchants' association. The 80-year-old owner has decided to retire and permanently close the florist, a shop that was a landmark in the neighbourhood.
The Barcelona City Council, for its part, defends the need to comply with the ordinances to maintain the quality of public space. In a statement, the Eixample district asserts that the fine is in accordance with the regulations and that alternatives for grants were offered, although the processing time could not be shortened. “We regret the closure, but the law is the same for everyone,” municipal sources indicate.
The closure of Floristería Soriano adds to a trend of disappearing traditional shops in central Barcelona, replaced by businesses aimed at tourists. The owner believes that the only way to maintain the activity would be a million-euro investment to transform the premises into a visitor establishment, an option he dismisses due to its high cost and because it would distort the essence of the business.
The news has had repercussions on social media, where numerous locals have expressed their support for the merchant and criticized the municipal management. Some users have shared images of the display, which barely protrudes a few centimetres, and compare it with other similar violations that have not been fined.
The owner plans to close the shop in the coming weeks, once he liquidates the stock. The florist on Avenida Gaudí will thus leave a gap in the commercial landscape of the neighbourhood, where it was known for its wide variety of plants and flowers. For the locals, the loss goes beyond a mere shop: it is the disappearance of a meeting point and a piece of Eixample's history.
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