Tag: bodega san jose

Adiós Bodega San José

azahar

I wish this would stop. I mean, I know nothing lasts forever but there are just too many wonderful tapas bars shutting down. The latest tragic loss is the amazing Bodega San José, which I really only got to know a few years ago. This time it’s a combination of landlord greed and Covid that made the Bueno family decide to shut its doors after almost 80 years, though the bar itself is much older. When the family first came to Sevilla from Santander they opened a few locations, the first one being El Punto in Puerto Osario, which closed in 2007. Bodega San José was the last one standing.

Anyhow, I just found out about this today after that lovely photo of Nicolás Bueno and his mother Rosario (who worked in the bar until the final day, making her amazing boquerones en vinagre) popped up this morning in my Instagram memories and so I put it up in my Stories. Then I got a message from someone telling me the bar was about to close. In fact, the final day of the lease is April 30th but then I found out the bar stopped functioning on the 18th. I had just been there a couple of days before and was happy to see Rosario there, but nobody mentioned anything about closing. So this has come as quite a shock today. I went over to see for myself and saw the doors shuttered and everything gone from the outside, the signs, everything. So much loss this past year.

Rosario Revisited

azahar

I first met Rosario in the spring of 2018 when I stopped in at Bodega San José, which she has been running, first with her husband and then her children, for over 60 years. I’d been there before, but as I wanted to add it to Sevilla Tapas I did my usual photos and chat thing. And well, what a woman! I immediately got a girl crush on her and since then would stop in to say hola and listen to her stories while she held my hands in hers.

So of course I was concerned about her and the fate of the bar in the wake of Covid, and finally managed to visit there this past weekend. I wasn’t even sure if they had reopened but wanted to stop by on the off chance and ask about Rosario. And not only was the bar open but there was Rosario!

Turns out she’s been working there every day since lockdown was lifted at the end of June, making her amazing boquerones al vinagre and THAT tortilla de patatas. What a woman. She told me she turned 90 on July 14th. I said “What?? You’re 90??” And she said “Well l was born in 1930, you do the math!” ? And well that totally made my day, my week… just knowing that she’s okay. Icing on the cake was later when my friend remarked on how Rosario’s face totally lit up when she saw me. I mean, I saw it too but it was nice to know I hadn’t just imagined it. <3