Weyler Square Kiosk Shuts Down Over Permit Lapse

Weyler Square in Santa Cruz de Tenerife has lost one of its most popular meeting spots for an unknown period. The kiosk-bar in this central location has closed down because its operating permit ran out. This closure could last for many months, possibly even over a year, while the city waits to find a new operator through a bidding process.

This kiosk was important because of its prime location. It sits at the start of Castillo Street, which is the main shopping street in Tenerife's capital. Thousands of people walk past it every day, in an area that sees more than four million visitors each month. Weyler Square itself is also a protected historical site, known as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), as it's part of the historic Los Hoteles-Pino de Oro neighbourhood. This highlights its cultural and community significance.

Even though the previous operator could have asked for a temporary extension to keep the kiosk open until a new contract was awarded, they didn't. The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council is now preparing the details for the upcoming bidding process. Javier Rivero, the Councillor for Infrastructure and Heritage, stated that the public tender for managing the kiosk will begin "before summer." The new contract will be for ten years, and the winning bidder will have to pay the City Council an annual fee to use the public space. When the contract was last awarded in 2015, this fee was 25,200 euros per year. The new amount will be based on the kiosk's market value. To clarify, an "administrative concession" is simply permission from a public authority for a private company to run a business in a public area for a set time, in return for payment.

The kiosk itself was renovated in 2016, featuring a steel design that mirrored the square during the day and provided unique lighting at night. This closure is different from another kiosk-bar in Plaza del Príncipe, also downtown. Its manager has decided to stay open while their own bidding process, which is further along, continues.

These kiosks are part of a larger network of outdoor cafes in Santa Cruz's public spaces, all managed through similar permits. Other locations include Plaza de la Paz, Plaza Militar, Tomé Cano, and García Sanabria Park. The former Strasse Park kiosk in García Sanabria Park, for example, has been shut for almost a year and a half. It closed after the city evicted the operator for not meeting requirements, about four months after its permit expired. This particular case has also involved accusations of electricity bill fraud and has gone to court. Despite a new tender being issued last summer, no one took it up, showing how complicated managing these city-owned businesses can be.