HISTORY OF ESPINALER
1896
The Espinaler was born in 1896, when Miquel Riera i Prat settled in Vilassar de Mar (Barcelona), from a country house near the Espinal bridge (Argentona – Barcelona) and opened the Tavern Espinaler, where he offered the “drop” of wine and the “mix” to the villagers. The Tavern was the typical kind of Mediterranean establishment: small, cosy and with a rustic family air, which has been maintained over the years from generation to generation. In 1907, thanks to the work of Miquel Riera i Prat, the Espinaler achieved a licence to open the tobacconist’s, which gave a significant drive to the family business.
During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, Francisca Riera i Fornells, the founder’s daughter, took over the business. These were very tough years for the business, as Francisca was a widow and had four children when the Civil War broke out.
1940’S
The founder’s grandson, Joan Tapias i Riera, started the change of business: he brought in a very high quality vermouth, something very new at the time, a vermouth which, with the years and thanks to the determination of the Tapias family, has become one of the best-known products of the Espinaler. Little by little the range of products for hors d’oeuvres broadened and Joan Tapias introduced top-quality Galician preserves: white clams, cockles, mussels, tuna…
1970S
Miquel Tapias Roldós, the founder’s great-grandson, took over the reins of the business in the 1970s and started a revolution in the Espinaler: he started to travel to Galicia to choose the best shellfish in person at the auctions. This was the start of the marketing of Espinaler canned food. In the year 2000, Espinaler started to expand its canned food products around a large part of Spain.
