"They don't fit here anymore": After 340 years, Mallorca's oldest shop closes
After 340 years of family ownership, the oldest shop on Mallorca is closing. The owner complains that the street has changed too much.
The Ca Donya Angela haberdashery on Jaume II in the center of Palma is the oldest shop in Mallorca. It opened in 1671 and has been owned by the same family since 1685. It has always been on the same corner and has always been a general store. It offered a wide selection of sewing accessories, fabrics, and handcraft materials and was a meeting place for anyone passionate about handcraft and textiles.
Now it's all over. Ca Donya Angela is closing after 340 years. His business has turned into a kind of museum, complained owner Miquel Aguiló to the Mallorca Zeitung .
"Grandparents stop in front of the store and say to their grandchildren: 'Look, this is a haberdashery.'" The street has changed too much. "We don't fit in here anymore," says Aguiló. He and Ester Gordiola were the eleventh generation of the family to run the haberdashery.
It's not just locals who complain that Mallorca is changing; many tourists also notice that the island's image is shifting. Everything is being trimmed for luxury, one vacationer recently complained. A beach bar, where locals used to meet year-round, is now a luxury restaurant that's only open for five months of the season. Prices are double.
Karl and Monika F. from Mönchengladbach have already taken action and said goodbye to Mallorca . The retired couple had been visiting the island for 38 years and lived there for a long time. They had rented their own apartment since 2015. They enjoyed the island's beauty and tranquility. However, the increasing influx of tourists and the associated cost increases were becoming increasingly disappointing. Their lease was expiring, and an extension would have cost twice as much.
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