Valerio Petrillo is the owner of the Palma Emotions World group. Made in Brasil and Quentin's American Bar on the Paseo Marítimo are part of this group. There used to be a pizza restaurant as well. That closed due to the fall in customers. "What good is a beautiful seafront promenade if it’s empty?" This is Petrillo's question.
"Many businesses in the area are in bankruptcy proceedings," he says. The Covid years, the years of the Paseo's redevelopment have taken their toll. Officially inaugurated last autumn, the new Paseo has failed to take off. Lack of parking, high rents; these are other ingredients. Petrillo, a member of the ABONE nightlife association's board of directors, explains that nightlife is shifting to Santa Catalina. In this regard, he's in luck; the group have two establishments there. Others are less fortunate. Rents, he stresses, keep going up: "It makes no sense."
Tomeu Mas, the manager of the CAEB Restaurants Association, echoes his views. "Ten-year-old rental contracts are up for renewal, and prices are going to double. All the business effort is going towards paying the rents; profit margins have shrunk considerably." The Paseo Marítimo area "is in bad shape". "They're trying to find solutions, but there are parking and accessibility problems."
Two and a half years ago, Lío Mallorca opened on the site of the former and famous Tito's. The Lío Group is now understood to have initiated a redundancy plan and informed the Fluxà family, who own the building, of the situation. The lengthy redevelopment of the Paseo, the lack of parking and the challenge of establishing a high-priced product that requires a long season to be profitable are key factors in the company apparently assessing the club's future. The Lío format, largely designed for high-spending international visitors, requires at least seven months of operation to be profitable. Seasonality is an issue.
Lío closed for the season in October. Its website promises a return with "new surprises". Meanwhile Mas points out that industrial estates are becoming hubs for new businesses. These have ample parking and lower rents. Being non-residential areas, they have no problem obtaining a licence for a music bar or nightclub.