Coalla cheese sampler
Good news arrives for the capital. And it is that in a climate of complete restlessness, still there are brave people who go ahead with their projects . Just a few weeks ago, the store opened its doors koalla . After years of success and making a name for themselves in Asturias, they decided that their next step was going to be Madrid. Let's welcome the ultimate gourmet store.
View of the Coalla premises from its second floor
FROM ASTURIAS TO MADRID WITH MORE THAN 60 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
But how was Coalla born? For this we speak with Ramon Coalla , second generation in charge of stores, who defines himself as a shopkeeper , but that, without a doubt, he knows a lot about this. “ Coalla is a family business that started in 1955 with my parents . First it was a small store, a grocery store. They had fine beaks and liked good things. Over the years, the superstores started and we had to specialize even more”, he explains.
Thus, the first Coalla became a gourmet store, although Ramón Coalla does not like the term very much “ because it has been reviled over time, now everything is gourmet ". In the 80s and 90s, they began to specialize in wines and gastronomy of a certain quality. "We didn't invent anything, but we started giving the option to buy or take it right there”.
Coalla team
More stores opened. Two in Gijón, another in Oviedo. And now it was Madrid's turn. "In Asturias they work very well for us and that ambition has brought us here, which is where all of us from the provinces come," Ramón shares. “He gave us respect and we decided to have here Mireia Humet and Eduardo Castillo , as partners to carry out the daily management”.
This was not a word and deed, but an idea that came up three years ago. It has been years of searching for premises, until they found the one that today hosts their brand new store on Calle Serrano, with two floors and a terrace . “We loved the area, the structure of the premises and the possibilities that existed with it. We took it to our designer and made it in the likeness of our stores in Asturias.”
They started with it in January, "when no one knew what was going to happen" and in March they had to stop. “As we are a bit brainless, we decided to go ahead with the project and here we are”, he rejoices. Since they opened, it is not strange to find both people from the neighborhood and many others who come ex professo to visit them. “ We all like to eat and drink well , in a nice place and I think that has been the reason for the success of Coalla Madrid”.
SELECT FOOD AND A GASTRONOMIC PROPOSAL MADE WITH PRODUCTS FROM THE STORE
Coalla is a paradise . It is the perfect place to lose yourself among its shelves, look closely at each and every one of the cheeses that are displayed in its showcases and dive among its more than 1500 wine references.
Preparing a ventresca in Coalla
“The assortment found in the store is not new, it is the work of many years. The whole team has moved, we tried absolutely everything... Word of mouth works very well for us. , the recommendations of friends who have tried certain things from different producers and that is how we contacted them”, Ramón Coalla clarifies. “We really like the small producer, It's a face-to-face deal but we also have larger surface area products that do well as well."
His professional 'deformation' means that every time he travels, he enters all the stores he finds and visits the producers in the area. One of the keys to Coalla? “ We like to bring products that you can't find easily ”, they affirm and with this, they intend to stand out from the rest of the stores of the same concept.
Coala storefront
there you can buy Charcuterie cut by Joselito, Carrasco Ibericos or Cecinas Pablo, cheeses from all over the world (Norway, United States, France, etc.), salmon from Ahumados Domínguez... In addition to a complete collection of preserves , among which to find from a good part of Spain, with brands such as Ramón Franco, Olasagasti, Paco Lafuente or those of Güeyu Mar, which arrive from the very Playa de Vega. Also pâtés, biscuits, jams, sauces...
In addition to buying Coalla is going to taste . What better than having a wine, accompanied by good gastronomy? “ We brag about not knowing how to cook ”, affirms Ramón Coalla, “what we want is to prepare simple dishes, that can be made with products that everyone finds in the store ”. In addition to being able to open any of the preserves they sell or order charcuterie and cheese by weight, in Coalla you can enjoy dishes with enough grace.
If photos could be smelled or tasted...
his friendship with Jose Antonio Campoviejo , chef at El Corral del Indianu in Asturias, led them to collaborate with him to create a menu of more elaborate dishes , always using the products available in the store. “He advises us and creates original dishes, like a Matachana black pudding toast , with sardines from Güeyu Mar and peppers or tuna with peppers and wasabi vinaigrette. Another favorite is the beef and chicken tingas ”. Furthermore, one can delight in Cantabrian octopus José Cimavilla , a vitello tonnato, creamy rice with squid in its Güeyu Mar ink or salmorejo with mojama and piparras, among many others.
There will be a recipe book coming out soon. , so that customers can emulate these simple and rich dishes at home. “In the end we are shopkeepers and what we want is for people to take the product home and enjoy it ”, confesses Ramón Coalla.
MORE THAN 1500 WINES AND 5 SOMMELIERS WORKING
“We have made a great team. We wanted to find people who knew what they were up to and I think we have achieved it”, Ramón is proud. The human team is another of its strengths.
Coalla from the street
And it is that in addition to the people who work in the store, Coalla has a team of no less than five sommeliers , which in addition to advising you, know by heart everything that is exhibited on their shelves. Arturo Rivas, former sommelier of La Tasquita de Enfrente , either Victor Hernandez , that comes from Javi Estevez's Tasqueria They are part of his starting team.
How do they choose the more than 1,500 wines that you can buy in Coalla? Visiting the wineries and tasting each of the wines . "We deal directly with the producer, the treatment is direct and for this reason we have become their distributors in Spain for many of them, which means that the price is better and that we skip steps in the chain, bringing them directly from the winery, to Coalla”, he explains. They also have beers, ciders, vermouth, champagne or spirits.
Their selection of cheeses is endless
As for consumption in the store, in addition to being able to choose from its offer of wines by the glass , with a lot of references that are out of the ordinary, because “Rioja or Verdejo they all have” , and that change every 3 or 4 weeks, it is also possible to drink one of the wines that are exhibited there at that same time. How? In Coalla they have a machine that, in a matter of minutes, brings them to serving temperature . “It is impossible to have the entire wine offer on camera. That is why we have this machine that cools a white bottle in less than a quarter of an hour”.
Definitely, Go to Coalla to have fun, drink good wine and eat good food and to enjoy an experience, to say the least, memorable.
wine paradise