Christian and Carlos Baqués
Christian and Carlos Baqués are two Mallorcan entrepreneurs who, with their innovative, modern concepts, are revolutionising gastronomy in the island’s capital. The brothers began working in the restaurant that their father opened in the early 1990s and today they are at the helm of a group that already has five locations and shows no signs of slowing down.
How did you start Forn Projects, a group that already has five restaurants and is growing steadily?
Christian Baqués- It all began in 1992 when my father converted a former bakery, FORN Sant Joan on Calle Sant Joan, into a restaurant, keeping its original name. Together with my grandfather, who had already worked in the restaurant business, they started this project.
Carlos, as the youngest, how did you manage to convince your brother to join you and your father?
Carlos Baqués- I started out by helping my dad. I studied hotel management, which I didn’t really like, so I dropped out and went to Germany, where I studied for a period of time. When I came back, I decided to work with my father and after some time I spoke to my brother, who also lived there, and I proposed that he join us and he has been on my back ever since… (both brothers laugh in unison).
OMBU
How did all the other projects begin from FORN de Sant Joan?
Christian- Well, the truth is that everything happened in a year in which lots of coincidences came about. The OMBU project started due to some amazing premises that my brother had been eyeing up for some years, so he started having coffee there every day and waited for the tenant to retire. He befriended him and after many years had passed, the day he retired my brother was the first to find out. At the same time, the man who ran the business next door, which happened to be owned by the same person, also retired, so from a small tapas bar, which was what we originally wanted to do, we created OMBU, which was a bit larger. It has been a very successful project, so much so that we have just replicated it in Santa Catalina, the adjoining neighbourhood, with the same results.
And how did the idea of KOA come about?
Christian- That year the restaurant we owned in front of FORN de Sant Joan, which my father had been behind for years, also closed, so we had no choice but to take it because, besides from being across the road, we knew the potential of the location.
KOA
2014 must have been a difficult year with so many openings…
Christian- It was a really hard year because we launched two projects in under four months. We went from having one restaurant for many years, where everything was under control, to suddenly running three at the same time and having to restructure the whole company.
How do you divide the work up?
Carlos- In the end, we both do a little bit of everything. One takes care of some things, the other does other things and then some tasks are shared. Sometime we have different views, we discuss them, we fight like brothers, in the good sense of the word. But all this helps us to grow.
And what about La Caña? How did you come up with the idea of opening a beach bar in the middle of the city?
Christian- La Caña was a post-Covid opportunity. We had the chance to take this place that had an amazing terrace overlooking the sea and, remembering how bad we had it during the pandemic because we didn’t have a terrace, and although it wasn’t the best time, we decided to take a chance on it and open a Mediterranean tapas bar, a beach bar in the city.
La Caña
What is the key to success?
Christian- For us the location is really important. We also have to pay close attention to the costs, the administrative structure, because these days it is very difficult to make money in the restaurant business. But above all, you have to be there. The moment you are not there, everything can go wrong very quickly. Obviously, the more we grow, the more we have to delegate duties, but we always try to make sure that one of us is there.
What is your view of Mallorca in a gastronomic sense over recent years?
Carlos- It’s skyrocketing! A lot of very interesting things are opening. There is a lot going on, a lot of people and lots of tourism… We’ll see what happens over time because many people open restaurants with a lot of enthusiasm and soon realise how hard it is and end up closing.
How would you sum up your project?
Christian- Dreams.
Carlos- Family.
