In the historic towns and neighborhoods there are some places that, after a long career, have become something more, much more, than a bar or restaurant to be, in addition, not only a gastronomic reference but also a social one. A meeting point in which neighbors and longtime customers coexist with new visitors looking for this ember of authenticity. In Barceloneta, one of these places is the Jai-Ca, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary and is still going strong.
History
At the corner of Pizarro and Ginebra streets there has always been a bar. In 1952, it was Can Vinagre, run by the family of Marià Martí. The timetable was what they would call 24/7 today. That is to say, open day and night every day of the week to serve, among others, the workers of Catalana de Gas, La Maquinista, the Vulcano shipyard, as well as the dockers and fishermen. Each group had different schedules that occupied 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
During the dictatorship, the premises were also, among others, the headquarters of the Manuel Arruza bullfighting club, which only accepted members who belonged to the Falangist organizations of the FET and the JONS. Never to be forgotten are also the dances of a very young Carmen Amaya in exchange for some “perras gordas”.
Jaime Cabot
Mariano Martí, tired of working 24/7, offered the business to the then employee of the Padrón Pharmacy, Jaime Cabot. A spirited young man with an entrepreneurial spirit. The Cabot family rented the bar from 1952 to 1955. With the money he had saved there, and with the stash of penicillin, Jaime paid for the transfer of the bar. It is important to emphasize Jaime’s role in his years at the pharmacy during the typhus period, a disease that caused the death of numerous neighbours, among others that of his sister Lola. Jaime administered penicillin to the neighbours, often without charging the most needy. This fact alone speaks volumes about the young Cabot.
Inauguration of Jai-Ca
On July 1, 1955, the new place named Jai-Ca was inaugurated by Jaime Cabot. The decoration, modern at the time, has remained unchanged to this day. An adjoining wood and glass canopy with 5 tables was also built where, among other celebrations and curious meetings, the neighbourhood association, the board of the Barceloneta Swimming Club, the Barcelona-Barceloneta Football Club, the Ven y Ven Choir and semi-clandestinely the local militants of the PSUC used to meet. All of them treated Jai-Ca as a meeting point.
They were, together with Jaime, his sister Lluisa and his brother-in-law Joan Tomillero the architects of the growth and consolidation of Jai-Ca for decades.
Jaime had two passions: the C.N. Barceloneta, of which he was a swimmer, water polo player and director, and Barça. The Jai-Ca was the first public place with television in Barceloneta. This first Marconi was inaugurated with the first Real Madrid – Barcelona match that was broadcast on television. It was February 15, 1959. It was an event that only lasted half a half. The image was lost and it was necessary to follow the match only by radio, and, in addition, Real Madrid won.
2nd Generation
In 1956, a straw baby crib could be seen in the kitchen. It was the son of the Lluisa and Joan, little Jaime Thyme Cabot , who worked there since he was 13 until he eventually took over the reins of the business. First with his uncle and parents, and then, already at 80, with his wife Antonia Hernández.
New premises and 3rd generation
On July 29, 2012, they recovered a premises that they already managed in the 90s under the name of El Trompo. Little Wolf of the ill-fated Simon, becomes the new and second Jai-Ca , both located just 10 meters away.
Alba Thyme Hernández, daughter of Jaime and Antonia and head of the business since 2020, now represents the third generation.
The spirit of being the neuralgic center of the neighborhood and a reference among its neighbours has been maintained over the years. At the place, the usual customers have their own table and groups of lifelong friends continue to gather, such as the 20 or so “veterans” who never miss a Monday or the former handball players of La Salle.
More than an emblematic tapas bar in Barceloneta, today the Jai-Ca is already a brand of reference. With a team of approximately 40 people, the Jai-Ca is open from 8 am to 11 pm serving breakfast, vermouth, lunch, coffee and dinner every day of the week, every day of the year except December 25th and January 1st. Always seeking a natural and harmonious coexistence between local customers and the new visitor.
Without a doubt, over these seven decades, the same spirit of dedication and service instilled by Uncle Cabot has been maintained.
Happy 70th birthday, Jai-Ca!
-La raspa: Jai-Ca’s symbol cap. It was created in the 80’s by chance. When washing the anchovies someone said “don’t throw away the bones, fry them and see how it goes”. Perhaps this was the beginning of today’s cuisine de aprovechamiento.
-Baldomero: the unforgettable parrot, for years thinking it was Baldomero until it was finally discovered that it was Baldomera. Today a very present symbol in the restaurant.
-The cheer: it is a historical tradition the soccer cheer. Nobody even remembers since when it is done, but it is an appointment that does not fail to any day.
