topaz56

I hope to move to Spain within a year - just waiting for sons to get a bit older to tolerate a move from their friends -
I have an idea for a business as I do similar in UK
I want to buy or rent a house outside a village or town where tourists pass or visit, say on their way on a coach trip etc.
The idea is a house to live in but turn one part into a shop selling giftware collectable items or antiques (Spanish or English, or both)
As well as this, I would like to offfer teas, coffee, cakes, sandwiches etc - light refreshments and put tables and chairs outside
I envisage a white Spanish house on a mountain or similar which people visit - buy something, have a drink and bite to eat while looking at the scenery.

Is this feasible or am I fantasising?
what sort of property can I buy which is to live in and use as a business also?
thanks for advice - good or bad

Lionda

There is one near us. They live behind and over the shop and have an area with tables and chairs. They are Spanish and seem to do ok.

lynnxa

location would be the key

topaz56

I agree with that - I just wondered whether a house could be used for both business and residental but the previous post answered that too
thanks
in Andalucia can anyone suggest an area which has passing tourist trade but is not in a town?

valenciatim

It may be easier for the Spanish to do, in the same way as they manage to keep their bars going. The whole family mucks in and it's often not their sole means of income. The Spanish are also much more used to the red tape involved and the property would probably be owned outright so no mortgage to worry about!

fionamw

Yes, how many do you want not trying to be unhelpful, but there would seriously be lots of places that could come into this category, depends if you want to be on a main road, in a village, near the coast, very near some kind of tourist attraction, all manner of things. Might also depend on your definition of tourist trade - British, Spanish, others or all three? Do your youngsters need to be near international schools? Spanish? etc etc. Happy to help, more info wd be useful

topaz56

I know the choice is wide
mainly I was thinking of around Orgiva area - a nice roadside house where I can open up a room for selling collectable and interesting items and teas,coffes etc
I have 2 boys going with me - my others are grown up
I aged 15 (but I may wait until after his GCSE's) the other boy aged 10
They learn Spanish in school so not partcular about an international school
I would prefer them to mix in traditional Spanish area
I know there are too many areas of interest in Spain to pinpoint anywhere
more than anything I was asking for a general point of view on the viability of the idea - do Spanish people go to English tea shops? maybe where international toursits would visit but off the ebaten track
any ideas helpful

fionamw

I've toyed with these thoughts myself, though not in a very proactive way.. there's a little shop in a village locally run by a Brit, she does teas & things plus knicknacks, traditional Spanish plates, crockery, etc., brit stuff like soap powder, marmite, etc., (some people yearn for only Brit things so there remains a market for it even tho there are Spanish supermarkets within striking distance)..... but I've never seen a spaniard in there apart from her personal friends.
As to cakey type things, I've often wondered this too, especially when we were discussing a cake stall for charity or something & apparently at a previous event somewhere the Spaniards bought everything up like hoovers, so maybe there's a kind of market there. Whether I'd want to chance an entire livelihood on it I'm not sure..... some way of testing the waters would be wise, I reckon. Maybe get a shop locally to sell English goodies & see how they go? Dunno really.... good luck anyway!

Bigger Jim

When I left the service a number of years ago I took a resettlement course in Small Business Management and they used to set small projects to the attendees.

One of the points they always stressed was that if you are going to sell to the passing trade then you need to have people passing by, so that off the beaten track could be a bit counterproductive.

You need have a product that the customer base wants and a number of people have said to me, "that on a social level they have found that the Spanish can be somewhat unadventurous in the matter of foreign cuisine unless they are in a more cosmopolitan area".

If you become successful could someone else come along and start to compete with you. Greetings cards were always held up as a cyclic business where once one opens others follow in the area until no one has a viable business and then they all close. Then one opens and the cycle starts again.

On the other hand if you dont require a high income and enjoy reading open a second hand book shop that is not too successful and you wont have much competition.

If you have time, consider going on a part time course in small business management and they will task you with a project based upon what you intend to specialise in.

Nothing I write has any intention of dissuading you from following your intentions some people even make a success at running a bar - Peter Stringfellow in Majorca and I gather there are a number in Ibiza - but these tend to be in the minority. Watch the competition and see if you can learn from them, if there isn't any ask yourself WHY.

Wishing you the best of luck

Jim

AdrianTO

I know for a fact that Spanish buses do stop at places like the one you mentioned. I took a bus from Sevilla to Malaga once and one of the stops you mentioned was a place similar to this. However, besides my friend and I, the rest of the bus passengers were all Spanish. The restaurant/bar staff was Spanish etc.. So I think you would have to speak the language or employ someone that does.

Also, I don't think coach drivers stop at a place just because it "looks cute". You are going to have to make friends with these guys and offer them something in return for bringing you a bus load of customers.

topaz56

thanks
all useful advice
I think I may be 'blinded by the light' as the song goes
Maybe living in a fantasy of white pueblos and sitting outside sipping tea and eating scones and jam - combining my 2 fav things may not necessarily be the real world
At least i can see the downside !!
it seems to be easier in Uk to do something like that
all these spanish property programs have a lot to answer to, making it look like you only have to walk into a village and the world is your oyster

I will think about what has been said - and i am not averse to a bit of bribery to get customers

jdr

The problem is where ever the tourists go it is flooded with exactly the same shops and cafes as you are thinking of and a lot of them are converted Spanish run house lounges. ;-))

debbieandkeith

You need to be living somewhere near me, i live on the mountain road on the way to frigilana in andalusia. The area is very popular with walkers, we see them out walking with no water or anything with them, some look like they are gagging for a drink. We also get coachs that stop just near the house dropping coach partys off to go off walking then they come back to wait for the coach to pick them up. Most are english so i think a tea room would do really well here.

topaz56

thank you thank you
at last a chink of light
that is exactly what I was looking for
I just mean to open a browsing shop with it - selling interesting items
how are the property prices where you are?
anyhting that can be a house plus business? as I would like to live on the premises

spainboy

Its not going to be easy.
I used to do regular trips with a coach firm for a few weeks to various places, one of the Guadalest which is a beautiful tourist town in the mountains of the Costas. All trips ran from Benidorm 10 miles away.,once very popular and the cafe's/shops were empty then. Nowadays A lot are cutting back the blanket trips now because of the tourist trade and cannot fill the coaches.Theres businesses are on the brink of going bust.
I have been in the tourist trade since ive been here for 11 years, mainly as an enterainer but I know a lot of people who organise these type of trips.
Lets remember too we have 3 different free tour companies. My friend has been cut back to 2 days a week now because its just so quiet.
I live in a massive english area too with once heaps of Elderley people visiting.

I would seriously check it out properly before making any decisions. Dont forget Spain is also in recession and the pound rate has affected the tourist trade a hell of a lot.If you think its bad at home then have you visited Spain recently??!!!
We are all affected here. Theres no easy cash to be made whatever you do,especially from tourists.

Trust me,I live in Benidorm which is a massive tourist area,bars rely on the trade of the brits and if you walked through the streets now it is just like a ghost town. No more hustle and bustle with Brits like their used to be.
All you see now is the odd couple walking around, same in the evening.
Its sad.

Good luck though. Not trying to rain on your parade but I know of a few once busy cafes and bars that are closing.