The churrería opened this year in the historic center launches a tradition of solidarity that aims to repeat every Christmas.
Back in April, Ibai Castiñeiras took over the family business and opened La Quinta in Compostela, a churrería located in the heart of the old town whose name is a nod to the fifth generation he represents. He has also decided to perpetuate the Christmas spirit and the good traditions established by his predecessors. His great-great-grandfather, says the 25-year-old, had already been sweetening life with his stall at the Pontecesures fair since 1842: “My intention had never been to take over the churrería, but my grandfather died two and a half years ago in a tragic way, and my grandmother was not strong enough to continue running the business. That made me step forward to give continuity to what had been my family's livelihood for more than 180 years. However, I didn't want to focus on street markets, but to create my own brand, develop and expand it. After successfully opening his first establishment in Rúa da Caldeirería, now this Cesureño has launched a solidarity action following in the footsteps of his grandmother Fina (who gave her name to Churrería Fina): “She, on special Christmas dates, always had a detail with people in need and gave them churros at the end of the day”. In the same spirit, Ibai took a shipment of churros and hot chocolate from La Quinta to the Cocina Económica de Santiago.
At the soup kitchen run by Sister Alicia Lourido, more than 150 chocolates and 600 churros were served on Friday afternoon to warm the souls of the users, staff and volunteers. The initiative, she explains, “was spectacularly welcomed both by the team that manages the Cocina Económica and by the people who go there. When they announced over the loudspeaker that they were going to hand out hot chocolate with churros, since it was the first time we did it and they were not used to it, their faces changed. Seeing that illusion was the most beautiful thing”. The owner of La Quinta aspires to repeat every year: “We will be happy to do it as long as we can. We know that this is a luxury for many people, since it is not a staple food. It is something that people with fewer resources are deprived of, but with this cold weather it is very tempting to have a hot chocolate, and we wanted them to enjoy it, to feel loved and in family with this gesture”.
Despite coinciding with busy dates for La Quinta, whose establishment (with capacity for about 50 customers) fills up every afternoon and there are even queues to enjoy their star product there, they are willing to make an extra effort. In fact, Ibai had the support of a group of friends who helped him carry the chocolate and churros to the Cocina Económica facilities: “We brought all the material to them, which was quite heavy and expensive to move, and they did the work of distributing it”.
And why, being from Pontecesures, did Ibai decide to open La Quinta in the Galician capital? “We wanted to cover all audiences and here we had the possibility of reaching the local customer, but also the tourist, all year round. We loved Santiago and being able to open our first establishment here was a dream come true. The business idea is to create a brand and that our product can be found in other cities in Spain, even in other countries”, answers Ibai.
Although the classic churro with chocolate is the most popular combination, he explains that it is closely followed by “a combination that was born a bit improvised”, that of churros painted with Kinder and Nutella cream, as well as churros dipped in chocolate (dark or white). In addition, they also offer filled churros. And, in the beverage section, there are also different types of coffees and milkshakes. Although La Quinta offers the option of take away and delivery through Just Eat, “where the product comes out the most is in the premises, which is also designed with a lot of love and made in detail to our taste”, emphasizes its young owner.
