The Tin-Tan bar is one of those places that has left its mark on Lanzarote and, specifically, in Arrecife. The first words that come to mind when thinking about it are 'home' and 'homemade', and after 57 years open, offering a close service and typical dishes of Canarian gastronomy, Tin-Tan closes its doors because its owner, Juan José Gutiérrez, is retiring.
However, Gutiérrez does not want Tin-Tan to die, so he will transfer the business to another businessman who decides to take over, although he says "I'm in no hurry because haste is a bad advisor".
As the hotelier reveals to La Voz, "there are several people interested but now I want to take a vacation to relax and then I will analyze what I am going to do". Now, with a bittersweet taste, the Lanzarote native leaves the intense daily work of the bar and will give way to a well-deserved rest with his family.
Throughout these almost six decades, anyone who has passed through Tin-Tan has been able to enjoy traditional homemade dishes such as tollos and chicken in sauce, chickpeas, salad, compound squid, Canarian sancocho, pork or tuna in marinade. All this always accompanied by the friendly treatment of Juan José that led customers to repeat their visit.
A success based on work and dedication
Juan José's father was the one who built the bar but it has been himself who has maintained it and has worked to keep it open. "Tin-Tan has given me everything I have but based on a lot of work because many people have told me that 'my father left me the business', but if you don't take care of it and don't take care of my customers, I wouldn't have it", he says.
The origin of the name of Tin-Tan is something that perhaps many have wondered where it comes from. In this sense, Gutiérrez declares that it possibly came from "the way of paying in the old days that was said 'here you have to pay al tintan' but investigating I discovered that Tin Tan was also a Mexican comedian".
Juan José learned this trade from a young age, which led him to find the exact key to successfully run a business, in this case, a bar-cafeteria. "I came from school and went into the bar, I had it in my blood, I liked it since I was a child", he says.
However, on the road to success there are also obstacles to overcome. "I have overcome the economic crises based on a lot of work, taking care of customers and making an effort not to raise prices and maintain them. Also doing everything slowly but with good handwriting", indicates the owner.
In the Tin-Tan characters and politicians from the Lanzarote sphere have met although Gutiérrez prefers to keep their names because, according to him, "being a waiter is like being a priest, you must hear, see and be silent because if these walls could talk..."
This bar leaves Juan José an infinity of memories and good times although "also some bad ones like some fights" but he highlights that "they have almost always been beautiful".
The owner claims to have "mixed feelings" about the closure, because they are many years dedicated to it. Now, he says with a laugh that "the first thing he will do when he gets home is remove all the alarm clocks". His free time from now on will be dedicated, according to him, to "enjoying his wife, his grandchildren and traveling".