In terms of shops, as well as A la Premsa d’aquell dia (nº. 44), which sells historic newspapers (see below), other notable retail inhabitants of Joaquín Costa are Fantastik (nº. 62) and Rufus (nº. 9). Fantastik is a shop of weird and wonderful knick-knacks, which has been in its present home since May. Previously located on Carrer Mercé, owner Juanra Esteban said: “I always wanted to have my shop in El Raval, so when I found the premises here on Joaquín Costa I immediately loved it and decided to bring things here.” Just down the road, Rufus skate shop is owned by Italian Ricardo Dave. “I wanted to bring my shop to somewhere where there was a real skate ‘vibe’,” he explained. “Everyone knows that in Barcelona, that’s in El Raval, and I was able to find this shop right by MACBA, which is a popular hangout place for skaters.” There’s also the surprisingly-named Bubub (nº. 29), which is a former toy shop (the source of that name) turned greengrocer’s. The owners have a plot of land out in El Prat and they sell their produce direct from there in a kind one-horse farmer’s market.
Like many areas in the Raval, Joaquín Costa has won a following amongst the young going-out crowd of Barcelona, and in the evenings, many otherwise innocuous grey shutters go up to reveal a range of drinkeries and eateries. At number 56 is the Betty Ford Bar, owned by Australian Dave Kalucy and serving a range of international beers as well as home-made deli burgers. “I was looking to open a bar which had a flavour of back home,” Kalucy said, “and I’ve found that being in Barcelona, there’s a lot of leeway for you to try something a bit different.” Along the street, you’ll also find the recently-opened The dog is hot (nº. 47), specialising in hot dogs, Oddlands bar (nº. 52), with its Smurf-decorated toilets and Original Pizza (nº. 47), which some claim as the best place for your Four Seasons or Margarita in the city.
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