Three friends and a top hospitality empire in Madrid
Social experience. Two words and an ambitious project behind a friendship of more than 30 years. Chiqui Calleja, Charlie Saiz and Fernando NicolásToday successful entrepreneurs began in the restaurant industry as great things begin, risking all or nothing.
«We already had experience at night because we had some discos, but a place near the club where we worked was left free and we wanted to try our luck creating a tea shop. The truth is that the offer was small, so we bet on expanding the menu and it worked. They talk about Pipa & Co, a place with which they started in 2013 and now, four years later, Grupo Larrumba has already added Seven restaurants, with Marieta, opened in 2014; Juanita Cruz, Frida and Perrachica, in 2015; and the last, Habanera, which is added to the transfer of Dray Martina.
A phenomenon that has made a difference in the concept of restaurant in the capital of Spain. «We have always been very observant and detailed clients, which may have helped us to be clear about what we want. Places that we would be delighted to go to, that make us feel at home. Hence, the spaces are open-plan and with warm tones. Jorge Lozano is the true soul of the group’s interior design, he knows how to find the key in each adventure ”, they say.
The key to success
From a very young age they knew what they wanted and how to do it, something that today they maintain as their motto: «The objective is to be the further away from the fashions the better, because a fashion is not on the crest of the wave for 20 years. Being novelty is different, that is being alive. The initial idea arose to break with the serious protocol that existed and give a more informal blow to the restoration of Madrid, of course without lowering the level of being able to be in an attractive place that allows you to have breakfast, lunch, dinner and have a drink if feel like it. Although the locals are very different, they all have something in common, that ‘During the day they are very day, but at night they are very night’. We sell atmosphere ».
Unlike those who have to control everything, they understand the success of a company as teamwork. “We work seven days a week, we only close three days a year. If you do not delegate you end up going crazy, you do not stop being in your business betting on people. U.S we invest in quality staff, which at the end of the day are also the image of the brand. The main thing in our business in addition to having experience is knowing how to smile, everything can be fixed even if you make a mistake by being friendly and with a smile ”, they point out.
Its restaurants
Habanera
C / Génova, 28
Madrid
91 737 20 17
Perrachica
C / Eloy Gonzalo, 10.
Madrid
91 737 77 75
Marieta
P. de la Castellana, 44.
Madrid
91 575 75 53
Juanita Cruz
P. de la Habana, 105
Madrid
91 451 17 76
Pipa & Co
P. de la Habana, 105.
Madrid
91 143 98 49
Frida
C / San Gregorio, 8.
Madrid
91 704 82 86
Dray Martina
C/Argensola, 7.
Madrid
91 081 00 56
They bet on the safe side. “We are not experts in all types of cuisine in the world, but we do try to have a little of everything because you never know who will come to see you.” Hence, its premises have a waiting list and everyone wants to live the experience and be seen by them.
Your last successful place, Habanera, occupies a large part of the premises of the old Riofrío, in the Plaza de Colón. Its spectacular decoration with a colonial air covers two large floors with different bars and lounges, about 900 square meters in total. Its dishes include cheek cannelloni, smoked sardine coca with tomato sauce and sprout salad or the ‘not fried’ old clothes croquette. The average price is between 25 and 30 euros.
But if anyone thought that this trio of aces stood, nothing could be further from the truth. Trying to reissue the past splendor of Havana is not only Habanera’s thing, as the Larrumba Group also arrives in the Caribbean to embark on a new project in Old Havana. And again in Madrid they have just inaugurated a Mexican-Japanese fusion bistro, Peyote San, one of his craziest and most groundbreaking concepts. Soon they will open a space of more than 600 meters in the Canalejas Complex, in Alcalá, where they will be located on the ground floor of a hotel and the reception will be inside their restaurant. Something as brave as it is novel, just like its founders.