The supermarket chain Mercadona is moving ahead with its project to establish itself in Menorca and has applied to the Balearic Government for a commercial licence to open a new store in Maó. Once the licence has been granted the company will have to approach Maó Council for a building and installation licence. As the waiting period is an unknown quantity, no date has yet been advanced for the opening.
The site chosen for the Maó supermarket is within the town itself, next to the Ocimax leisure centre in the Cós de Gràcia.
The company also plans to open a supermarket in Ciutadella but, as yet, has not found a suitable site. The chain would prefer a location in the town centre but admits that the size of plot needed (which would include a car park) may make it difficult to find and may mean that the supermarket will have to be sited on the outskirts of Ciutadella.
According to Mercadona, the recently-approved regulations governing the location of commercial premises will not affect their plans for opening in Menorca as they intend to site their supermarkets in town centres and not on the industrial estates, although, in the case of the Ciutadella store, this may not be possible.