Carrer de Santa Maria, 5
Today the images of the temples are no longer obscured by the smoke from the candles. Many churches have electrified the candles and wax candles have been relegated exclusively to Easter and baptismal celebrations. Until a few decades ago, however, running a wax business next to a basilica was a great deal.
In Mataró, the saga of wax-makers began in 1871, when the Barcelona-born Francesc Ricart founded a wax factory and shop right next to the Basilica of Santa Maria.
But how was the wax paired with coffee? In 1915, Elvira Ricart i Coll opened a grocery store alongside the wax works, where coffee, sugar and cocoa were sold and which was called Cafès Manigua. The merger of the two establishments came in 1966, when Josep Masjuan i Ricart refurbished and expanded the old shop, changing the original modernist decoration for more modern.
In 2002, the current owner, Enric Riera i Masjuan, refurbished the shop again. Look at the entrance door with two wooden rosettes recovered from the modernist store and the wrought iron signs with the founding dates of the business. The old wooden counter highlights a collection of coffee grinders, signs from the twenties and the old coffee roasting machinery, which still works today.
