Spanish grocery store charges tourists to come in and look

Spanish grocery store charges tourists to come in and look

In case you were wondering, the store has a rich history and has been around since the 1800s. 

A store in Barcelona called Queviures Múrria
A store in Barcelona called Queviures Múrria/Facebook/@RamonRion

Tourists can be a nauseating breed. As much as we all form part of the 'tourist' community at some point or the other, having to deal with us must take a lot out of a person. 

We get overly excited over things and we tend to conduct ourselves as overbearing when we want something. 

Tourists travelling to the beautiful city of Barcelona in Spain have a lot to see, but it seems that they have been taking advantage of a historical structure without paying their dues. 

Queviures Múrria is a grocery store that has been in business since 1898. It is deemed one of the most eye-catching locations in the area and therefore attracts a fair share of tourists. 

"The vintage look of the store and the traditional design of the interior draw in hundreds of tourists every day, but the problem is that many of them aren’t actually interested in the products sold inside – all kinds of traditional Spanish cured sausages, cold cuts, cured cheeses, oils, wines, etc." (Oddity Central)

One of the managers shared that many tourists walk into the store without even greeting. They walk around and take pictures and then leave without buying anything. 

Of course, this isn't good for business. So, this manager decided to charge people for 'just looking' as a way of discouraging them. 

"Toni Merino, one of the managers at Queviures Múrria said that the idea to charge tourists a fee for simply coming into the grocery store and looking around without buying anything started out as a joke, but as the staff and the regular patrons became increasingly inconvenienced by random tourists looking around, taking pictures, with absolutely no interest in the products on display, they decided to implement it." (Oddity Central)

The notice read: "Visit just looking...(INSIDE) 5 euros per person. Thank you." That's around R100 per person. 

But it seems that they don't have to implement the fee because after posting the sign on the shop window, they have managed to discourage unwanted visitors. 

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"Now, most of the people who come inside actually end up buying something, and those who don’t prefer to contemplate the interior of the store through the shop window." (Oddity Central)

Take a look at the inside of the store below, courtesy of YouTube:

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