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FOOD AND DRINK

Why do many bars and restaurants in Spain close on Mondays?

If you live in Spain or come here regularly on holiday, you’ll probably have noticed that Monday is the day when many bars and restaurants stay closed and you have far fewer options than any other day of the week. But why is this?

Why do many bars and restaurants in Spain close on Mondays?
Why do bars and restaurants in Spain close on Mondays? Photo: ANDER GILLENEA / AFP

If you live in Spain, this probably doesn’t bother you too much, but if you’re here on vacation for only a few days and the restaurant you wanted to go to is closed when you turn up, it can be quite annoying. 

Many other establishments in Spain close up on a Sunday, including shops, supermarkets, offices, as well as some museums, so why do many of Spain’s some-81,000 restaurants close on Mondays?

Eating out is an important part of Spanish culture and everyday life. Spaniards eat out to socialise and even for entertainment purposes. Many people don’t even think twice about eating out, it’s not only for special occasions, it’s a weekly occurrence. It’s not uncommon that one of the main weekend activities in Spain will be going out for a long lazy lunch with family or friends.

The report ‘Moments of consumption inside and outside the home’ carried out by AECOC Shopperview in collaboration with Campofrío, Frit Ravich and Lactalis Foodservice found that 32 percent of Spaniards eat out for lunch in bars or restaurants at least once a week.  

For a long time, Spaniards ate out more than citizens of most other European countries. Of course, this changed during the pandemic when many bars and restaurants were forced to close and Spaniards were confined to their homes for months. 

Since life has returned somewhat to normal eating out has been back on the menu in Spain, however, more recently the cost of living crisis is forcing Spaniards to cut down once again on one of their favourite pastimes. 

There are several reasons why bars and restaurants choose to close on Mondays, but primarily it’s because it’s not financially worthwhile.

Monday is still a relatively quiet day when it comes to eating out. Between Tuesday and Sunday, the number of customers increases with the busiest days being Thursday to Sunday.

The weekend is when most Spaniards choose to eat out. Of course, this is the time that people have time off work and so can spend the time enjoying a meal out at a restaurant and not have to rush back to the office. With so many Spaniards eating out on a Sunday, it’s unlikely that they will eat out again the next day on a Monday.

Because of this, they typically choose the following day – Monday – to give their staff a well-deserved rest. The majority of bars and restaurants in Spain are small, family-run establishments so can’t always afford to hire more staff to run their businesses when they want a day off.  

Another reason they close is because markets, wholesale supermarkets and other suppliers are not open on Sundays, so in order to be able to provide fresh food to customers they need to be able to restock during the week. Closing on a Monday gives them the ideal opportunity to do this and to buy more fresh products for the week to come.  

One possible reason why fewer people choose to go out to eat on Mondays is that often if a restaurant is open on that day and has a new member of wait staff or chef starting, Monday will be their first day. This means that the quality and service may not be as good as normal.

These days, however, more and more bars and restaurants are opening seven days a week. Many places are still trying to claw back some of the money they lost during the forced closures during the pandemic. Many restaurants have had to resort to freezing food in order to stay open, but if you’re still hoping for the freshest of produce, Mondays are still best avoided. 

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LIFE IN SPAIN

More foreigners and people living alone: What Spain will be like in the future

Within three decades, new data reveals that there will continue to be more deaths than births in Spain, population growth will be mainly due to immigration and a third of all households will be occupied by a single person.

More foreigners and people living alone: What Spain will be like in the future

Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) has released a report revealing what the country will look like all the way up to 2074. The figures have been based on how the population will evolve if current demographic trends continue.

Spain’s population will grow by five million

Spain currently has 48,692,804 inhabitants, but this number is set to grow by an extra 5 million by 2039. It’s important to note that the growth will not be equal across the country, and will only focus on specific areas. Much of the country will continue to suffer from depopulation.

Catalonia and Madrid will be the two regions with the greatest growth, with nearly 1.2 million and one million respectively. The greatest relative increases, however, will be recorded in the Balearic Islands (19.0 percent), Valencia (19 percent ) and Murcia (17.2 percent).

On the other hand, the steepest declines will be seen in Asturias (-4.1 percent), Extremadura (-3.4 percent) and Castilla y León (-0.7 percent).

READ ALSO: Growing number of foreigners drives Spain’s population rise

28 percent of the population will be over 65

Spain’s population is growing older and older, and by 2042, 28 percent will be over age 65 compared to the current 20.4 percent. Fast forward to 2055, and this will reach 30.5 percent.

Six percent of the population of Spain has already turned 80, but in 2074 this will double, reaching 12.3 percent. And within 15 years the number of even older people will practically triple. Centenarians will exceed 46,000 compared to nearly 17,000 this year.

Birthrates will increase

Spain’s birthrate has been in decline over recent years, but starting this year, it will begin to grow until 2042. The data predicts that 5.5 million children will be born in the next 15 years,  and the average number of children per woman will grow slightly, going from 1.16 registered this year to 1.24 in 2038.

In 2042, birthrates will begin to fall again, but from 2058 they will rise once more, due to more people having reached fertile ages. The number of births is also thought to be boosted by immigration, with more and more foreigners moving here and having children too.

But, the 5.5 million babies predicted to be born here between 2024 and 2038, will still be 8.7 less than those born in the previous 15 years.

Over a quarter of the population will have been born outside Spain

Spain’s population will not only grow thanks to increasing birthrates but more so because of the numbers of foreigners continuing to move here.

By 2039, the INE predicts that a total of 28.7 percent of the people living in Spain will have been born outside of the country. And by 2074 that figure will reach 39 percent.

This means the population born in Spain is set to gradually decrease, going from 81.9 percent today to 61 percent within 50 years.

READ ALSO: Spain needs 25 million foreign workers to keep its pensions afloat

7.7 million will live alone

It seems that Spaniards are increasingly choosing to live or will be forced to live on their own, with stats revealing that by 2039, one-third of households in the country will only be occupied by a single person.

This equates to 7.7 million single-person homes, compared to the current 5.4 million. In fact, in 2039 the most common type of household will be that of a single person – 33.5 percent of the total, ahead of the 31 percent of two-person households.