Our article begins to be written on June 24, 1892, when the market in the town of Figueira da Foz ceases to operate in what was then known as Praça do Comércio (today’s General Freire de Andrade Square and better known among Figueirans as Old Square) and a proper space for vendors is inaugurated – the municipal market that we know today as the Engenheiro Silva Municipal Market.
One hundred and thirty years later, on the same site, and after several interventions, the Figueira da Foz Municipal Market remains a landmark of great aesthetic and architectural value, as well as serving Figueirans and occasional visitors with a rich variety of fresh produce, local items and diversified services.
Getting to the market is easy. Perhaps it will be difficult to choose where to enter – through the entrance to the Municipal Garden?, through the Mondego River?, through Rua Francisco António Diniz? – or what to buy. There’s no shortage of fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, flowers, clothes, tablecloths, traditional products and toys.
Going to the market is much more than filling your bag with potatoes or carrots.
The immensity of the colors arranged on the stalls stands out and the echoes of loose conversations and the constant call of the sellers reach our ears.
To live the market is to go beyond simple commercial exchange. It is to be part of a refreshing community experience, of easy contact with others, of casual conversation, easy smiles, and happy generational reunions.
Choose Friday or Saturday morning for more lively market sessions, or any other day of the week if you’re looking for a quieter shopping experience. Don’t forget to visit!
If the Engº Silva Municipal Market serves the urban area of the city, the Buarcos Market meets the people of Buarcos. Although of more modest dimensions, and without the grandeur that characterizes its counterpart in Figueira da Foz, the Buarcos Market also offers a panoply of fresh and local products, giving the feeling that they jump directly from the earth to the stalls.
The experience in Buarcos is second to none in Figueira. The choice is smaller, but more than enough to liven up the lunch pot.
Walking around, we are not indifferent to the generous spirit of Dona Tina, the contagious friendliness of the small organic farming stall of “A Nossa Terra“, the abundant fresh fish, Nini‘s bread, or the much requested meats of “Russo do Talho“. Unless it is.
100 meters from the Santos Rocha Municipal Museum, on the corner of Rua Calouste Gulbenkian and the road to the Arts and Entertainment Center, on Rua Abade Pedro, we discovered… Mercadinho da Eskina.
It is a friendly and cozy space where in its smallness we find a happy mix between grocery store and cafeteria, under the command of Dona Elsa. There you can stock up on the most basic household products or choose the best combination of seasonal fruit.
The cafeteria service, although scarce due to space limitations, excels in the essential and fulfills its function, with the help of 3 or 4 tables next to the huge windows, which make the interior a place with excellent natural lighting.
Outside there is a quiet wooden terrace – arranged on a wide and inviting walkway – that goes around the corner that gives the space its name, where you can enjoy a quiet read, have a chat or simply enjoy the passing people.
In general, it works as a great support to the shows that take place either in the CAE or in the Municipal Auditorium, even half a dozen steps away, as well as to the strong residential concentration around.
Keeping the focus on the street corners and grocery stores, down the stairs to the Abadias and then going up Rua Luis Carriço, we find at the top, on the corner of Rua do Viso and Rua Joaquim Sotto Mayor, Fresco & Bom, another beautiful reference of good customer service in Figueira da Foz, and that lives up to its name.
With a strong focus on fruit and vegetables – or these products would not occupy a large part of the grocery area – the girl Li Hong was able to gradually win over a well-composed parish with his friendliness, good humor and an admirable rate of accuracy on the degree of sweetness of the fruit. “Peach? Very good!“.
Having arrived in Portugal more than 10 years ago, Li is grateful for the growth of her small grocery store and does not forget the difficulty of the early days: “First day €12!“
In operation for 90 years, in full Rua da República – the busiest shopping street in Figueira da Foz -, a New Primrose (How old is the Velha?? We’ll explain…) It catches the visitor’s eye even before they enter: the carefully decorated shop window is a real eye-catcher, and even the most absent-minded passer-by is dazzled.
Inside, the path leads down a single aisle that makes a stop in the flower section of the grocery store almost mandatory, an obviously fragrant and appealing space that enhances the offer of the rest of the store.
It is notorious the care in the choice, rotation, detail and display of products, as well as the bet on constant promotions, making of the New Primrose a good candidate for the Nobel Prize for the Art of Good Selling, which is not unrelated to Nuno’s permanent friendliness and dedication, who has been masterfully and proudly receiving a variety of loyal and satisfied customers for 20 years. Here, you can feel the true spirit of personalized service.
Nova Primorosa is part of the small group of Commerce with History, a project that aims to highlight, protect and publicize establishments with local historical and cultural or social interest.
In Praça General Freire Andrade(Praça Velha to friends) lives another exquisite grocery store, called A Primorosa, daughter of… Nova Primorosa. Confused? Well, let’s explain. Mr. Luís Gaspar, owner of Nova Primorosa (which was only renamed after a remodeling) decided to expand the business and open a branch here in Praça Velha, owned for 38 long years by a nice couple: Preciosa and José Bernardes.
A bank once operated here in this same space. In fact, some of the safes used by the bank at the time are still part of the furniture in the grocery store.
Preciosa and José no longer experience the bustle of what was once known as the Praça do Comércio, but they still take special pleasure in serving their most loyal customers.
There’s no mistaking it, this Primorosa excels in the most essential items, the freshest fruit and vegetables and leaves a tasteful picture in its window decoration. It’s one to visit!
João and Alda, another inseparable and loving couple who adopted the red house at the top of Rua dos Combatentes to sell groceries, have also been in business for 38 long years.
Here the story goes beyond our existence: potatoes and beans have been sold here for more than 100 years, the work of the late Mr… Mário Azenha! Even today their descendants make a point of visiting the space.
Mr. João tells us where the tavern used to be located, a typical element of the grocery stores of those days. Today, the space seems cramped. “It’s so that nothing is missing!”, Mrs. Alda tells us. The colorful shelves are not deceiving: there is no shortage of variety here. João and Alda close at lunchtime, pride themselves on having outside customers, and find time and leisure to take groceries to the homes of those who find it difficult to get around.
The name of the place is missing: Mini Mercado do João.
It was once Frutaria São Pedro, but has since changed its name. Bruno Gonçalves now operates FrutIva, a fruit shop with a minimalist layout that serves very close to Dr. Joaquim de Carvalho School, on the long Rua Dr. Joaquim Sotto Mayor, which runs from the Coliseu Figueirense to the Ginásio Figueirense Swimming Pool.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the big bet of this renovated space. The eyes are wide open with so much color arranged around, where good taste and care in detail dominate. In the center, for the more daring teeth, is what we call the Island of Dried Fruits.
The circulation space helps the store breathe and invites longer selection, while the natural light adds an even more suitable ambience for the fresh apple, tomato, carrot and so on. It’s to go!
