In the heart of Sant Feliú de Llobregat, José Antonio Santamaría opens the doors of Bar Tostanova every day. He’s been doing this for more than two decades, Without partners or employees and with great effortInvestment and personal sacrifice. His story, told on Eric Pons’ YouTube channel, encapsulates the reality of many freelancers who keep small neighborhood businesses alive.
“There was a lack of work, I saw an opportunity, I had some money and I invested in it,” he explains of the beginnings. What started as a livelihood project ended up becoming their livelihood, where every decision comes with a cost. “Between 50,000 and 60,000 euros in total, including transport, licenses and city council expenses.“, indicating that the transfers were only 30 thousand.
Today is Jose Antonio He is the only worker in the bar. “I don’t have a choice,” he admits. Your day depends on the pace of your clients, your daily finances, and your health. Because, in his case, there are no potential losses: if there are not, the business stops. “Any worker anywhere else works a lot less and has all the rights that I don’t have,” he laments. “As self-employed workers, we are up in the air.”
He emphasizes that dealing with the public is the most complex. “There are wonderful people who give you the strength to keep going. But there is also 10 or 15%…” He leaves in the air, alluding to the tense moments he lived through. However, he boasts that he has always remained calm: “In all these years I have never had to call the Urban Guard.”
José Antonio realizes that the work only gave him enough to live on, but he never made much money. “You win to succeed”He says no drama, though he admits the economic and personal burden has been enormous. “I took care of my family financially because I worked and struggled, but little of anything else. If I took care of the bar, I couldn’t take care of anyone else.”
Despite everything, he doesn’t regret trying. “You made mistakes, of course, but you learn from mistakes. Money, when you have it, you give it importance, but when you lose it, you don’t remember it anymore.” His advice to anyone dreaming of opening a bar Direct and honest: “Don’t build it new. Find an old license, because if you do it from scratch, you won’t be able to.”
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