The emblematic Café Aliança, in Faro, will reopen soon "as people remember it". The commercial establishment, which is part of the city's history, will be operated by a family from Faro, who will invest in creating "a typical Portuguese brewery where you can enjoy a good steak and a beautiful beer", but where there will be no shortage of more products. linked to the region “like seafood”, he revealed to the Sul Informação one of the project's promoters, who prefers to remain anonymous for the time being.
A business model that, he guaranteed, “will have nothing to do with any franchise», namely the 100 Montaditos or Starbucks brands. This information has been circulating, in Faro and on social networks – namely as a reaction to the article in Correio da Manhã, which announced the reopening of Aliança, shortly – but it has no connection with reality, he assured.
Another guarantee given is the maintenance of the exterior design and the emblematic elements inside the building, an ex-libris of the Algarve capital, “not only because it is mandatory by law, but because it is our intention to preserve the Aliança”.
The (slight) transformation of Aliança can be enjoyed, hope the promoters of this project, "in early 2016", although there is still no set date. “The work project is already approved and the beginning of the works depends on some normal bureaucracies in this type of undertaking”, revealed the future promoter of Aliança.
As soon as bureaucracies are overcome, “the work will be of short duration”. The new Aliança will occupy the ground floor of the building that faces Rua de Santo António on one side and Rua da Marinha on the other. The rooms that, in the recent past, were associated with Aliança, where a tobacconist and an internet café once operated, are not included.
It was the state of the building located between the Fidelidade insurance company and the old grocery store on that block that led to the closing of Aliança, in 2010, for security reasons. At the time, the area occupied by the cafe was much larger and covered the ground floor of three buildings.
The current project only focuses "on the building of the Aliança itself", which is stable. "That's why the Chamber approved the project," said the prosecutor. The same area had already been used by the candidacy of socialist Paulo Neves in 2013, during the electoral campaign of the Municipalities, and hosted several gatherings.
The last inspection of the building was carried out about a year ago and identified the need for "conservation works", including cleaning the facade, recovery of roof areas and minor repairs, but it did not detect "any risk to people or property", according to the councilor of the Chamber of Faro Theresa Correia.
For the rest, the family company that will operate the Aliança is, at this moment, the tenant of the space, since «the lease agreement was signed and it has already entered into force».
Contacted by Sul Informação, the mayor of Faro confirmed that the Municipality had already given the green light to the project and that a request for an extension of the license for the building's rehabilitation work was accepted by its owners. It will be this project that the new tenants will carry out.
«We did a very persistent work with the owners of the property, in order to make them aware of the importance of that space for the city and to recover it», stated Rogério Bacalhau.
“For our part, we are willing to help in whatever we can. This is an emblematic space in the city, people have many fond memories of Aliança. I hope the investment can move forward», he said.
The bet will even be made, although the amounts involved in recovering the building and launching the new business are not revealed by Aliança's new tenants.
“We don't think the value of the investment is relevant. What is important is that people focus their energies on recovering, preserving and making available what belongs to us all. In this specific case, we are talking about Aliança, but there are many other spaces that need attention», they consider.
The promoters of the renewed Alliance are «a family of Faro, with businesses in different areas, not just the restaurant sector».
(Updated at 10:35 am with data on the building's security conditions)
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