Barcelona plans public grocery network following Collboni and Mamdani talks in New York

Municipal grocery initiative

Barcelona plans to establish a municipal network of affordable grocery stores to assist working-class and middle-class households with rising living costs. Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni announced the project on 19 September 2026 after conferring with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The initiative adapts a municipal grocery concept currently being developed in New York. Under the Catalan capital's plan, a pilot establishment will open in the Marina del Prat Vermell neighborhood before the end of 2027. The store will operate within a municipally owned building, with daily operations managed by a non-governmental organization or third-sector entity. The site will combine affordable sales of fresh produce with a dedicated vocational training program.

Collboni detailed the timing and location of the planned opening following his meeting in Manhattan:

“We are going to start a similar experience next year, the affordable commerce network. In the La Marina neighbourhood we will open the first one before the end of 2027 to guarantee basic goods affordably.”

Bilateral mayoral discussions

The meeting between Collboni and Mamdani took place at 13:15 local time on Saturday. Mamdani took office on 1 January 2026 as New York's first Muslim mayor and campaigned on lowering living expenses for working families. In July 2026, Mamdani announced a flagship initiative to open five publicly owned grocery stores with private management across the city's five boroughs between 2027 and 2029, offering price reductions of up to 30% on select goods. The proposal has faced opposition from private retail groups that claim subsidized competition will damage existing businesses. During the bilateral discussion, Collboni presented Barcelona's municipal policies on housing and urban management.

“We have shared Barcelona's experience in rent regulation and the prohibition of tourist flats, as well as the climate control of nursery schools.”

Urban 20 summit deliberations

Collboni traveled to New York alongside Mar Jiménez, Barcelona's Commissioner for European Affairs, to take part in the Urban 20 (U20) summit. Barcelona is the sole Spanish city participating in the forum, which gathers municipal leaders and delegates from between 34 and 38 global cities, including London, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, and Istanbul. Summit discussions focus on three primary priorities: affordable housing and homelessness, climate action and resilience, and the protection of immigrant communities. The participating mayors will compile their recommendations into a Communiqué to be delivered to national leaders ahead of the G20 summit in Miami on 14–15 December 2026. On Sunday at 11:30 local time, Collboni and Mexico City Head of Government Clara Brugada will co-lead a panel on housing affordability featuring officials from Rome, San Diego, and Rotterdam.

Implementation and diplomatic schedule

The agreement on grocery policies comes ahead of scheduled diplomatic engagements between Spanish and American officials. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to meet Mamdani on Wednesday during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. While Barcelona possesses established public markets throughout its traditional districts, municipal officials identified newly built and vulnerable areas as lacking distribution channels for basic consumer goods. The pilot store in Marina del Prat Vermell will test the non-profit retail structure before the city considers further neighborhood locations.