The ambitious municipal initiative to revitalize the Almería Central Market with a modern gastronomic offering has suffered a significant setback. The project, which involved awarding several premises to catering operators to complement traditional commerce, has only managed to keep two businesses operational. The third concessionaire has completely abandoned the facilities, leading the City Council to revoke their award.

Through a sanctioning procedure processed by the Local Government Board, proposed by the delegate councilor for Employment, Commerce, and Talent Promotion, Ana María Trigueros Sánchez, the administrative concession of the company El Rincón de Basi has been declared void. The affected stalls, intended for a café-bar and prepared food services, were awarded on July 23, 2022, but never opened their doors or provided any service.

A report from the Consumer Inspector dated late December 2025 confirms that the concessionaire made no effort to condition, maintain, or operate the assigned space for over two years. The neglect was so severe that the market's own cleaning staff had to occasionally attend to the empty stalls.

This contractual breach has been classified as a very serious infringement according to the municipal ordinance regulating the Retail Municipal Markets of the City of Almería. The regulation penalizes the closure of a sales point for ten days or more without municipal authorization. As the company's lack of intent and the absence of force majeure were proven, and no appeals were filed, the City Council has applied the maximum penalty of concession termination.

Once the proceedings are concluded, the governing team can initiate a new process to relaunch the Plaza's gastronomic area through a new concession of the recovered stalls.