Lisbon, June 27, 2025 (Lusa) - Authorities have ordered the historical Ginjinha Sem Rival shop, located in Lisbon’s historic district since 1890, to close its doors at the end of the month, but the manager promises to “fight to the end,” even if that means going to court.
At issue is a dispute between the manager of Ginjinha Sem Rival, Nuno Gonçalves, and the current owner of the building, Axel Gassnann, a German businessman who has set up a hotel in the same building and terminated the lease of the century-old shop, located on Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, a few metres from Praça do Rossio.
The Lisbon City Council, through the councillor responsible for the ‘Lojas com História’ (Shops with History) programme, Diogo Moura, is mediating this conflict and acknowledged to the Lusa news agency that the most likely outcome is that the parties will resolve this dispute in court.
Unaware of this situation, hundreds of tourists continue to visit Ginjinha Sem Rival every day to taste the traditional sour cherry liqueur, leaving Abílio Coelho, who has been behind the counter of this establishment for over 50 years, with his hands full.
With a more sombre expression, the manager of this century-old establishment, Nuno Coelho, great-grandson of the founder, lamented that the current landlord’s flexibility regarding the business’s continued operation under the same management remains limited.
“The landlord’s position is irreversible. For over a month, he has shown no willingness to talk to us or to the Lisbon City Council, as he believes he has the right to keep the shop. We hold a different view and, therefore, the courts will decide,” he said.
Nuno Gonçalves also said that he had received a “derisory” offer from Axel Gassman to buy Ginjinha, describing it as “unacceptable”.
“My family regarded the proposal as anything but reasonable; we found it insulting, because he offered €250,000 for this 135-year-old business,” he stressed.
Although the authorities have ordered him to close the shop on Monday, the manager of Ginjinha Sem Rival assured that he will keep the doors open until a court instructs otherwise.
“We will maintain our normal work pace and, most likely, they will file an eviction notice. We will contest it in court because we believe the Shop with History designation protects us until the end of 2027,” he said.
Ginjinha Sem Rival, established in 1890, is one of 162 shops that the City Council and Lisbon have designated as part of the Lojas com História (Shops with History) programme, created to preserve the city’s iconic establishments.
The legislation in force says that contracts are protected until the end of 2027, which is the understanding of both the management of Ginjinha Sem Rival and the Lisbon City Council, according to Diogo Moura, the councillor responsible for Shops with History, who spoke to Lusa.
“The City Council is monitoring this process and understands the recognition of these shops and the distinction that their establishments receive. The law defines legal protection for these contracts until 31 December 2027, and this is also the tenant’s understanding,” he noted.
Recognising the limits of his intervention in a dispute between private parties, the alderman stated that he was doing everything the law allows to prevent the closure of Ginjinha Sem Rival and offered to intervene legally if the dispute were to proceed to court.
At the same time, Diogo Moura said that the Lisbon City Council is finalising a proposal to revise the regulations on Shops with History to allow for an increase in the number of this type of establishment and explained that 14 municipalities are collaborating on this work.
The councillor also called for a change in the law by the government to “clarify the rights of new lease agreements and strengthen the protection of businesses that, in addition to their historical value, demonstrate economic viability and cultural relevance”.
In turn, in a response sent to the Lusa news agency, an official source from Europe Hotels International (EHI), which owns the Ginjinha Sem Rival building, said it hoped the space would be vacated by Monday and expressed its willingness to reach an agreement.
"EHI affirms that it remains open to an agreement, reiterating that there is a “very advantageous” financial proposal on the table for those responsible for Ginjinha Sem Rival, which would allow the shop to move to another location, maintaining production and even expanding distribution of the drink in the hotel itself. The company believes that the solution lies in the hands of the tenants, appealing to “common sense” to resolve the matter outside court.
The same source also stated that the aim is to retain the shop's original layout and continue selling ginjinha to the public, as it is currently, but with renovation work being carried out both inside and outside.
“Above all, we want to renovate the space and improve its image while fully maintaining the tradition. We have a vision of preserving the traditions and culture of Lisbon. We aim to keep Lisbon’s traditions authentic, which is why we have decided to keep the shop, its concept and its image of quality in the Pombaline district,” according to EHI.
The current owner of the Ginjinha Sem Rival building considers the establishment’s contract now outside the Lojas com História rules, because the management signed a new agreement in 2014 with the Russian company that previously owned the building.
This dispute is mobilising citizens and associations in the capital, such as Fórum Cidadania LX, one of the entities that promoted the creation of the Lojas com História programme, and which now seeks to preserve yet another century-old commercial establishment.
“We now gather in this shop, classified in Lojas com História, and we still face the same problems we encountered 15 years ago, when the shop was also threatened, but Lojas com História did not yet exist,” says Paulo Ferrero, from Fórum Cidadania Lx.
Paulo Ferrero recalled that a popular movement to protect Ginjinha Sem Rival partly inspired the creation of Lojas Com Historia.
The activist believes that preserving this and other century-old shops in Lisbon requires a structured commercial urban planning policy, and he highlighted that council decisions can better support the capital’s heritage.
Despite the end of the contract, Ginjinha Sem Rival promises to remain open, continuing to serve the traditional liqueur to Lisbon residents and tourists.
Meanwhile, on 5 July at 8 p.m., organisers plan a solidarity event at the entrance to the establishment, open to the entire community.
FAC/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
