Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
WITH a thriving footwear empire and a foot in the door of three of Pradollano’s finest restaurants too, Javier Nagore is a shoo-in for the title of the Sierra Nevada’s top entrepreneur.
Menorcan Nagore is half of the talented team behind Tito Luigi’s two restaurants and nearby Tito Tapas.
And when he is not overseeing his foodie emporiums on the slopes, Javier is keeping an eye on his family business, which makes hand-made shoes for sale in dozens of shops
around the UK alone.
Manufactured back in Menorca, his shoes sell in the British chain the Natural Shoe Store, as well as many places elsewhere in Europe.
He and business partner Luis Alija, started life setting up the first ‘hippy market’ in Menorca in the 1970s, before branching out to sell shoes and jewellery around the world.
Today they are very much alive and kicking in Pradollano, ensuring that their restaurants
– alongside emblematic Tia Maria, owned by Luis’ brother Carlos – continue to adapt and grow.
Counting former King Juan Carlos, as well as countless bullfighters and flamenco singers
as clients, this dynamic duo has gone from strength to strength since setting up Tito Luigi 27 years ago.
The flagship restaurant has just doubled in size with a stylish makeover, while recently-opened Tito Tapas is one of the hippest places to dine on the slopes, Meanwhile, the third restaurant Tito Luigi’s II, sits higher up in the village and is popular with locals. Together they employ around 40 people – a ‘roaring’ success story quite literally as the jovial Javier must have the most infectious laugh in Andalucia.
“The idea behind Tito Tapas was to create a natural yet modern place where friends could
come and meet, something a bit different,” explains Javier.
