Tomeu Torrens has confirmed that the historic Can Amer Cellar in Inca, which has been run by his family for almost half a century will be closing down on January 7th.
It was opened by his Mum and Dad, Pep Torrens and Antònia Cantallops in 1971 and Tomeu took over in 2005, turning it into a benchmark for contemporary Majorcan cuisine.
Tomeu Torrens already owns L’Àngel in Inca and Can Ribera in Muro and he has big plans for the future.
He’s opening a new restaurant beside his catering business in Lloseta and during Holy Week next year the premises in Selva which are currently only used for banquets will be opened to the public.
"This will be the new Can Amer," explains Tomeu, who says Can Amer Cellar is closing because he was unable to reach an agreement with the owner of the building.
“We have been chained to four-year contracts for 49 years, they never wanted to sell or give us longer contracts, and with each renewal they raised the rent,” says Tomeu. “It's an old building and needs an investment of around 200,000 euros to comply with the regulations in addition to about 40,000 euros a year for rent.”
Tomeu Torrens grew up in the restaurant, which used to be an old winery and it's where his Mum taught him how to cook so his life and career will always be linked to Can Amer.
"My parents were slaves to this rental clause because Can Amer was their livelihood, but luckily I have other restaurants,” he says.
Can Amer is the perfect example of the evolution of the old wine cellars that Inca is famous for. They used to just sell wine, but later started a range of traditional food to meet the demands of hungry tourists visiting Inca.
A Cellar With A History
In the 1970’s everything changed in Inca, mainly because of the shoe factories, which brought more businesses and more workers to the area and an ever growing demand for food.
"My mother was the first to innovate in terms of the gastronomic offer, she used her own recipes and adapted them to the needs of the restaurant," he recalls.
His father, Pep Torrens, died in 2018 and Tomeu says he was instrumental in the success of the business and a massive influence in his life.
"My father worked until he was 83 years old and I really admired him,” he says.