The Shop
Housed in a Pombaline building, "Restaurante Rio Grande", initially "Casa de Pasto Campo Grande", was founded in 1923 by the Galician Manuel Alvarez y Castro. In 1974 the name of the establishment was changed to "Rio Grande" due to confusion with another one located in Campo Grande and where some foreign customers were taken. Despite some remodeling and maintenance works that were carried out at the establishment, it essentially maintained its spatiality. After Manuel Castro's death, his heirs sold the business to one of the workers, Mr. Constantino Munoz. In 2019, the business was sold again and is now owned by Conor Gillen and Gaby Orain. In 2023, the "Rio Grande" restaurant celebrated 100 years, and acquired the status of being one of the few century-old establishments in the city still in operation.
An aesthetic and functional design is observable that encompasses all fixed elements and that clearly contributes to the course of commercial activity, while at the same time constituting an essential aspect of the establishment's environment. Despite having carried out some renovations and maintenance works over time, the most significant ones, which are recorded, were carried out in 1963. Since that date, the spatiality has not changed.
