Magatzem Can Mercadal

Can Mercadal is an agricultural store that conserves the same essence as when it was born in 1957 as the successor of “Can Valé de s’Acorador”, which was divided into two. Sebastià Mercadal and his wife, Antònia Veny de Can Valé, grandparents of the current owner, took over the fodder and marinades.

Toni Mercadal, the second generation of the family, says that the business has remained intact despite the adversities they have experienced. He recalls high points such as the time of the dairy farms and milk production in Campos, when they had to open a second warehouse to store tons of feed for the cows. He also recalls other times such as the entry into the European Union and the consequent restrictions in terms of agricultural and livestock regulations that were introduced from then on, which meant that the volume of business decreased.

The business has recently passed to the third generation, headed by Joan Alexei Mercadal Artigues, selling all kinds of agricultural and livestock products.

The building, which remains practically the same as when it opened, was built in parts. The façade was the first to be finished, without having the interior done for years, because the Town Hall wanted to inaugurate the Plaça dels Tres Molins in front of it and demanded that the surrounding area be finished. As an anecdote, the grandmother used to go out to water the pine trees that we can see today in the square.

The building retains the entire structure from the 1950s and 1960s. The two oldest slopes date from 1956. We can find the strut and a beam of unusual size and width, which is said to be the first in the town to be made with these characteristics, as well as having the columns made of sandstone. It also conserves a lot of original furniture such as the doors, the scales and the caper machine from the 1940s, among others. It should be noted that a poem by Damià Huguet presides over the warehouse: “Tot consisteix a començar pel principi. O, si de cas, haurem de sembrar records cada any” (Ofici de Sords, 1975).