Movers & Shakers

In my last blog "A tale of two pontoons" I touched on some of the changes in business ownership in Santa Luzia. In the years that we have been visiting the local economy has undergone something of a transformation with the old industries of fishing and agriculture slowly shrinking and the new tourism and commerce sectors advancing.

A number of new businesses have been launched and some existing ones have undergone or are undergoing refurbishment and transformation.

I wrote in a previous blog,"Developments" about the little Cafe Santa Luzia on Av. Enginero Duarte Pacheco (The Promenade), which under new ownership has been transformed into a vibrant inviting bar compared to it's previously dark foreboding and frankly quite shabby persona.

Customers take the cool evening air outside the transformed Cafe Santa Luzia

Next door to Cafe Santa Luzia a similar transformation has occurred at Snack Bar Anna-Raquel under the stewardship of Feliz Berto (Happy Bert). Berto has done a sterling job on the formerly vastly under trading bar by introducing reasonably priced snacks, including soups which the Portuguese adore, an Internet terminal , large screen TV and brighter lighting.

Berto himself is a very accommodating, warm and friendly man but always seems to have a slightly worried look on his face which is why he presumably earned the nickname happy Bert.

Further down the promenade stands Casa Do Polvo, opened in late 2006 it was an immediate success, unlike the next door O Marinarho which opened in 2007 and traded for barely one season, the premises then being acquired by Casa Do Polvo who trade there under the logo Casa O Lado (literally meaning The House Next Door).

A semi derelict property on Largo Da Igreja, The Church Square, was completely refurbished by local builder Manuel in 2006 and opened as Cafe Da Villa selling freshly baked bread, snacks, coffees and drinks and quickly established itself as a favourite haunt of Local Portuguese, tourists and ex-pats alike. Feliz Berto acquired the lease on this business in 2007 adding it as the second string to his Santa Luzian business empire.


Cafe Da Villa where locals tourists and ex pats alike spend the hours sipping coffee and watching the world go by.

Freshly baked bread can be obtained here every morning and Berto has also installed the villages second internet terminal.

Just around the corner on Rua Marchal Gomes Da Coasta stands Arco Iris (Rainbow) a small coffee and snack bar opened in 2007 by the former owners of Cafe Kate Kero the popular bar on the social housing complex to the rear of the village. Joan and I were among if not the first customers and call in every time we are back in Santa Luzia. The owners are very accommodating and also very tolerant of my non too perfect attempts at conversation in Portuguese.

Back on the promenade meanwhile both Snack Bar Stop and Cafe Infante Henrique are undergoing refurbishment and Capelo the largest and busiest restaurant in the village has had a complete re-fit and seems certain to maintain it's position as the No.1 eatery in town.

A newly refurbished Capelo awaits the summer crowds who will patiently queue to dine here.

The new apartment developments at the western end of the village, which appeared to have all but stalled a couple of years ago, are all back on course with many of them complete or very near completion.

The former owner of Casa Da Ria, the villages only bed and breakfast accommodation, (Now trading under the name of Casa Oriente), Jorge Herrman, has, along with English partners established an apartment management company to promote and let the new buildings.

The occupation of these units along with the removal of the old sewage treatment plant and its associated stench from the western end of the village and the redevelopment of the western end of the promenade last year should give this part of the village a new lease of life.

The sign outside Jorge Herrman's Ria Beach office.

As reported in my last blog "A tale of two pontoons" the ferry and water taxi landing point has also been moved up to the western end of the village to facilitate the installation of a new harbour in the east and the re-construction of the eastern end of the promenade.

This will create opportunities for bars, cafes, shops and restaurants which due to the previously mentioned sewage stench are sadly lacking at this end of the village.

All told things are moving apace in santa Luzia which looks set to become a real tourist magnet though hopefully the lessons learned during the development of Cabanas to the east of Tavira will be applied to prevent the village loosing it's essential charm and character.

Developments

Now that a little time has passed I have managed to shake off the euphoria of the struggle against the elements and creatures of the deep that lead to the capture of Brian and turn my mind to the changes and developments in Santa Luzia.

Casa de Polvo appears to have taken over the premises of O Marinhero the new restaurant that opened last summer. We had a meal there before it closed and while there was nothing to complain about there was also nothing to justify the premium price charged.
Little Casa de Polvo on the other hand has gone from strength to strength being popular with visitors and residents alike.
The acquisition of the O Marinhero site (which is incidentally right next door) more than quadruples Casa de Polvo's size and I am pretty confident that with their focused offering and reasonable prices they will make a huge success of it.

During our visit we noticed that almost every commercial premise in the village was displaying an order from the Camera (council) showing a large area of the Rio Formosa from which all moored vessels had to be removed by 10th of April and with typical Portuguese aplomb the owners of quite a few seemed to be contemplating complying.
The reason for the removal of the vessels is so that dredging work can begin on the new marina to be built there and I am looking forward on my next visit to seeing if (a) the boats have been moved and (b) the work has commenced.
Along with the construction of the marina the Eastern end of the promenade is to be widened and improved. A section of local opinion is also in favour of pedestrianising the promenade and lobbying is in progress to achieve this.

The tiny Cafe Santa Luzia has also been dragged into the 21st century.

This one room bar was run by a lady about ten years older than The Royal Navy, she spoke not a word of English and the only Portuguese I ever coaxed from her was "Nao tem" ("I have none"). She has apparently finally put up her feet and handed over to the younger generation who have introduced such innovations as refrigeration,lights and some outside furniture. These, the new coat of brightly coloured paint and the smiling helpful young Portuguese man behind the bar have transformed the place.It is just past the Farmacia, if you visit Santa Luzia, as one day surely you must, call in and enjoy, you will be made most welcome.