Business Sealed in Puerto del Rosario Sparks Protest: Owner Claims Persecution, Council Says It Fails Minimum Standards

Since last Tuesday, the bar located in Plaza Millares Sall, Puerto del Rosario, has been closed. The Local Police sealed the premises – a public concession granted in 2022 – in accordance with precautionary measures imposed by the City Council’s Procurement Department.

The concessionaire, Álvaro Sanz, launched a social‑media campaign denouncing what he calls “a new assault” and an “arbitrary persecution” that, he insists, has left eight families on the street.

On Monday he organized a protest in front of City Hall while the ordinary plenary session was taking place. He was accompanied by several citizens holding a banner that read “No to the mafia, no to the bosses.”

Sanz argues that the public concession was awarded in 2022 but the activity did not open until October 2025 “because of non‑compliance or services that the City Council should have provided but did not.” He claims:

“We tried to correct the error.”
“After the inauguration on 2 October we held a meeting on 14 October with Urbanism, Procurement and the Mayor.”
“Parts were missing and we decided to go ahead,” adding that the City Council “would resolve the bathrooms and commit to portable services.”

Having been forced to interrupt the activity once the premises were sealed, Sanz denounces “harassment,” recalling that a nightclub he managed in recent years was “persecuted and sealed.”

When the protest reached the City Hall steps, Mayor David de Vera approached the demonstrators and explained that the sealing “responds exclusively to the breach of essential legal requirements and safety criteria, not to arbitrary or political decisions.”

From candy kiosk to coffee‑bar

The municipal corporation reiterated its position on Tuesday in a press release. According to the statement:

• The concession was resolved on 21 October 2022, with the start of activity conditioned on compliance with obligations such as the opening licence, mandatory insurance, and accreditation of material and human resources.
• The concession was awarded after the council issued an incomplete tender riddled with deficiencies; the competition was declared void and a negotiated, non‑public procedure was used to grant the concession directly to Sanz, “all in accordance with the law.”

However, a Local Police report dated 3 October 2025 found that the activity was operating “without an opening licence nor a valid civil‑liability insurance.” Subsequent technical reports highlighted additional irregularities:

• Unpaid fees for the 2024 and 2025 annual dues.
• No insurance in the name of the concessionaire.
• Lack of accredited training for staff.
• No registration in the health register.
• Absence of authorization for a gas installation in a wooden kiosk, “with the associated risk.”

On 5 November 2025, the Procurement Office formally requested the concessionaire to remedy the detected deficiencies. The ten‑day deadline expired without the required compliance.

Despite the irregularities, the Local Police recorded on 31 December that a party was being held at the venue.

Consequently, the City Council decided on 19 January 2026 to suspend the activity immediately and to initiate the contractual termination procedure, emphasizing that its action stems from the “legal obligation to act when the minimum conditions required by current regulations are not met.”

The statement stresses that “the defence of safety, legality and the proper use of public spaces is an irrevocable responsibility of this administration.”

After the sealing, the entrepreneur submitted the necessary documentation to the Urbanism Department to obtain the required operating licence. City technicians are currently reviewing the submitted project to determine whether it complies with current regulations.

Sanz, in an audio note sent to Radio Insular, claims that the information disseminated by the public corporation “does not reflect reality” and demands a correction, warning that “they have until this afternoon to rectify… otherwise I will file a defamation lawsuit,” while leaving open the possibility of a conciliatory meeting.