There are stores that sell objects and stores that sell memories. For over a century, at number 16 Plaza Mayor, Bazar Arribas has done the latter. From its showcases have come tricycles, dolls, trains, cars, and lead soldiers for four generations, bringing joy to thousands of children from all five continents. This tradition will come to an end on March 31.
The history of the establishment dates back to 1919, when the great-grandfather, Juan, opened a watch shop at number 19. Conchita Rollán, third generation leading the business alongside her son, Miguel Mauduit, remembers it. That first shop would eventually expand to number 16 and with the sale of the limited toy offerings at the time, in the space that would be known as Bazar Arribas for decades.
The turning point that marked its identity came after the Civil War. A looting left the business devastated and forced the owning family to rethink everything. "Instead of continuing with watches, they decided to focus on toys because he has always been passionate about toys," explains Conchita. That almost intuitive gesture changed the store's destiny and turned it into one of the oldest toy stores in downtown Madrid.
The early post-war years were also austere on the shelves. "They sold balls, rag dolls, hoops, tricycles... very rudimentary things," Miguel recounts. They were large and simple toys, driven more by imagination than mechanisms. Gradually, the catalog grew in line with the country. Tin games and the first race tracks arrived, "the TAC tracks, which were like the precursor to Scalextric."
For the family, the store has never been just a business. "We grew up here," she says. Five sisters grew up among showcases, boxes, and regular customers. "We have always had the store as another part of our home," says Conchita, who was preceded by her mother and her sister, Marta, at the helm of the business. This family continuity was maintained for four generations.
However, the closure is not due to a sales crisis or a rent increase, but to something more intimate. "A cycle is closing," Conchita summarizes. The death of her mother on February 14 hastened a decision that had been implicit for some time. "The business passed from my grandfather to my mother... and now continuity has other difficulties. It's best to close the cycle," she concludes.
Until March 31, the shelves have one last life in the form of a clearance sale, with discounts of up to 30%. "We are selling a bit of everything," she says. Tin toys, regional dolls, board games, puzzles, cars... An inventory that is not old in the strict sense, although it may seem so. "We don't have antique items for sale. Everything comes from longtime suppliers who still make things the old-fashioned way," she clarifies, pointing out the range of handmade dolls, priced between 17 and 72 euros.
The store has also been a small stage within the grand theater of Plaza Mayor. Anonymous tourists and some well-known names have passed through. "We've had customers like Charlton Heston... Demi Moore came to buy dolls for her daughters," Conchita recalls. Also singers like Patxi Andión or Alaska, who, in the midst of the pandemic when the square was deserted, came in to buy a Valencian doll. "It's a gesture that I will always appreciate," she says.
But beyond the famous faces, the true fabric of the store has been sustained by regular customers. "We have friends in Miami, in Germany, in France... people who visit us every time they come to Madrid," she says. People who return seeking more than just a gift: "They look for things that remind them of when they were young, or something special from Spain for their children or grandchildren."
In a place where tourism has gradually consumed traditional commerce, Bazar Arribas resisted with nostalgia and pride in the craft. "Our audience is the best in the world: the children."