Entering DeTarros is entering a space where haste seems to be left out. Between glass jars, freshly ground coffee, spices and legumes, customers calmly walk around the store, refill their own containers and take only the amount they really need. . In the heart of Zaragoza, this small shop has been defending a way of consuming that goes against the tide for seven years.
Behind the counter are the siblings Lidia and Josué Vicente. She left behind more than two decades working in industrial logistics to open a completely different business. He joined a year later. Together they opted for a neighbourhood trade based on bulk purchases, waste reduction and close treatment which, they say, continues to be their main hallmark.
A BUSINESS THAT WAS BORN TO CHANGE PACE
The idea of opening DeTarros (C/ Torre Nueva, 30, Zaragoza) did not arise because Lidia Vicente had previously worked in food. Quite the opposite. After more than two decades dedicated to industrial logistics, she decided to turn her professional life around. He was looking for a closer job, a neighborhood business and another way of understanding consumption. After evaluating different options, he found in bulk sales the project that best suited that idea.
From the beginning he had the support of his brother Josué, who shared that same vision. During the first year he collaborated in everything he could until, when the store began to take hold, he became part of the team. Today they both work side by side at the front of the establishment. «We love each other and we also bother each other,» Josué jokes, referring to the good relationship that exists between the two.
MUCH MORE THAN SELLING IN BULK
DeTarros’ proposal is based on a simple idea: buy only what you really need. The customer decides the amount they want to take, they can come with their own containers and, if they do not have them, the store uses paper bags to reduce the waste generated as much as possible. «Reducing plastic completely is impossible, but we try to make small changes to reuse things and spend as little as possible,» Josué summarises.
First-time arrivals discover that the business is looking for more than just selling food. The store is designed to be walked around calmly, without the usual rhythm of a supermarket. Background music, products arranged in jars and shelves and a self-service system that allows each customer to stop for as long as they need. «We try to get people to come in and feel at home, in their own pantry,» explains the manager.
That environment brings together very different profiles. There are neighbors who remember the old groceries and enjoy recovering that way of shopping, while others arrive looking for a healthier diet or a more conscious consumption. To this day, they still have customers who entered for the first time the same year they opened their doors.
GROW JUST ENOUGH SO AS NOT TO LOSE THE ESSENCE
What began with about 200 references is now around 700. The offer has been growing little by little, adapting to the requests and needs of the. Among the most demanded products are coffees, spices, or Ceylon cinnamon. They also offer vermouth in bulk, one of the establishment’s most striking proposals, which allows you to refill the bottle and reuse the container.
Over the years they have also incorporated an online store to facilitate orders and reach customers who prefer to shop from home. However, this growth has a very clear limit. The Vicente brothers do not want to turn DeTarros into a chain or open new stores. Their objective remains the same as when they raised the shutter in 2019: to maintain a small neighbourhood business where you can meet those who walk through the door and see how they come back week after week.
