The only supermarket in El Hijate, a small village in Almería, will soon say goodbye to its neighbors due to the retirement of its owners. Miguel and Antonia leave the activity and with it they could leave the more than 500 inhabitants of this district that belongs to the town of Alcóntar without a place to do their daily shopping, since no one wants to relieve them.
As a result of depopulation, the ‘Super Miguel’ does not find anyone who wants to continue selling food and relief products in this small town in Almería, which could cause its inhabitants to have to travel more than 20 kilometers every time they want to do their shopping.
This depopulation is increasingly affecting more towns throughout Spain, which is why we see numerous towns looking for neighbors offering important advantages such as affordable housing or guaranteed stable work, through platforms such as ‘Come live in a town’ or ‘Holapueblo’. In the province of Almería alone, almost 80 municipalities out of a total of 103 are at severe risk of depopulation. This causes some long-standing businesses to have to close forever as they cannot find generational replacement.
The only supermarket in town
If it is already difficult for many people to move several kilometers from a big city and give up its services, the situation becomes even worse when these basic services also disappear from small rural centers. This is what would happen in the town of El Hijate, where Miguel’s store is the only existing supermarket in the entire municipality of Alcóntar.
The Miguel Supermarket, the long-standing business that for decades has been an essential support for the residents of El Hijate, is on the brink of closure. Miguel and Antonia are going to retire after many years of work, which causes enormous concern that no one will take over from them.
The closest supermarket, 20 kilometers away
The message from the owners leaves no room for doubt: they are looking for someone to rent the premises and keep the only supermarket in the district in operation. It is something that they want as much as the neighbors themselves, since, if the blinds finally come down, residents would have to travel more than 12 kilometers to Alcóntar to buy. Or, in the worst case, go to Baza or Serón, located more than 20 kilometers away.
Miguel, owner of the establishment, should have retired by now, but he continues working out of commitment to his neighbors. “Because of my age, I should have already retired. It would be a shame if the town were left without this supermarket,” Miguel, its owner, points out before the Canal Sur cameras, before adding: “Both the supermarket and the tobacconist would be transferred.”
“There is only this store here and if they are not there, then where are you going? We have to go to Baza or Serón,” says a neighbor, who warns that this possible closure would further aggravate the depopulation problems affecting the area.
“We are trying to get someone to keep it, I don’t lose hope of finding it,” says Antonia, owner of the business, who also explains that, along with the supermarket and the tobacconist, the option of renting a home is also offered for the person who decides to keep Miguel and Antonia’s business open.