The native of Empordà, son of the republican mayor of Bellcaire d’Empordà, was a unique figure who combined rice farming with being a merchant in Figueres, where he founded the popular Sancho Panza restaurant. He passed away just shy of his 106th birthday and was buried in his hometown.
Gifre was called up for service at the end of the Spanish Civil War. After fighting on the front, he suffered through the retreat and was confined to the concentration camps of Sant Cebrià and Argelers. He successfully escaped twice, including once from the La Carbonera camp in Figueres, before completing six years of war and compulsory military service.
“"He still owes us cents because he didn't pay for them. Just seeing him and talking to him made us happy."
Once settled in Figueres with his wife, Pepita Barceló Perich, they opened the Gifre Barceló store, capitalizing on the tourism boom. Among their most famous customers was the painter Salvador Dalí, who would stop by to buy postcards, although Gifre recalled that the artist did not always pay for them.
In the early sixties, the couple began their catering venture, culminating in the opening of the Sancho Panza restaurant in 1963, an establishment that became a landmark in the city of Figueres.
