At the age of 5, Miquel Tapias saw the world from a stool. His father used to put him there and that’s how he reached the counter, where he ‘stacked boxes of Flor del Cano cigars, at 3 pesetas, and Partagás 898 and Montecristo, at 5 pesetas’. Miquel Tapias (62 years old) is the face of Espinaler’s success, a family business founded in 1896 in Vilassar de Mar, which has reached the 21st century with a turnover of 13 million euros last year.
The business started out as a simple tavern in a seaside town and in the 1940s specialised in offering vermouth and quality tinned food on Sundays. In the 1950s, Ventureta Roldós, Miquel Tapias’ mother, created the formula for Espinaler sauce, which was only served in the tavern.
