We are Esencia, with two new restaurants in Barcelona after achieving a turnover of more than €17 million in 2023.
The Barcelona restaurant group plans to open two more locations in 2024 after committing to reopen the iconic Bauma Bar.
The Somos Esencia restaurant group is growing in Barcelona. After closing 2023 as a historic year with a turnover exceeding €17 million —almost 20% more than the previous year— the restaurant conglomerate is reinforcing its commitment to the Catalan capital with two new restaurants.
At the beginning of 2024, it made its first major move with the reopening of the iconic Bauma Bar, a restaurant with more than 50 years of history in the city. Now, with an ambitious growth plan—with a projected turnover of 30 million in 2024—Somos Esencia has announced to Metropoli that it will open two new restaurants before the summer: Barraca and Cafè Fauna.
Reopening of Barraca
El Barraca, a long-standing restaurant in Barceloneta, has been acquired by the group and will be completely renovated. As Alex Mitats, executive director, explained to this digital publication, the premises and the menu will undergo a complete overhaul, although we will strive to maintain the historic essence of the establishment.
The opening of this project on the Catalan capital's seafront is a great opportunity with the arrival of the America's Cup of Sailing. "The teams in the competition have already shown interest in our venues and we expect a lot of activity between August and October," explains Mitats. The company will therefore strengthen its presence in Barceloneta, where it already has the Aigua restaurant.
The new Café Fauna
On the other hand, Cafè Fauna is a new project that will open in Arc de Triomf in "about a month." According to Mitats, a Metropoli, it occupies the ground floor of a new building in the area and aims to offer its customers two different concepts: an area dedicated to tapas and breakfast and another to a restaurant.
With these two acquisitions, Somos Esencia will now have seven restaurants in the Catalan capital: Bar Bauma, Fauna Cafè, Gat Marró, Barraca, Aigua, Terra Blanca, and Brisa. "We have set ourselves some very important and ambitious goals, but we are convinced that we have everything we need to achieve them with our gastronomic offering," says the executive director.
300 more employees
The growth of Somos Esencia will also be reflected in an increase in staff numbers. According to the company's roadmap, it will end 2024 with a workforce of around 300 employees across its offices and all its premises.
The group's commitment, as explained to this media outlet, is focused on Barcelona due to its roots and history in the city. However, they say that they are "not closing any doors" to expanding their presence to prime locations in other Spanish cities in the future.
Water, the beginning of the business
Som Esencia is a family business with more than 30 years of experience in the sector that was created after the sale of the Tragaluz Group to the Miura investment fund. According to the executive director, the Agua restaurant Agua part of the group and was left out of the deal, so the Mitats family—originally linked to Tragaluz—began to manage it.
After acquiring two more restaurants, Tierra Blava and Brisa, the need to form a group became apparent, which took a big leap forward in 2024.