To be as clear as the shop owners are: Cortiço e Netos sells industrial tiles, from the 1960s to the 1990s exclusively. No point in walking in looking for some 17th-century handmade gem or replica.
I’ve been following these guys for a while, including their eviction story (quite common these days in Lisbon), which led them to change addresses. But, you know, that’s water under the bridge.
The Intendente/Anjos area, outside of the gentrified zone, is the part of the neighborhood where you still find grocery shops, small cafes, and hardware stores.
This shop’s story goes back to when Joaquim Cortiço started a business of buying discontinued industrial tiles and selling them. This resonates with me because one of the lessons I learned from my father was to buy an extra box of tiles when I was renovating my apartment. You know, in case later in life I had to replace a chipped tile in the bathroom?
Cortiço passed away in 2013, but the store is now run by his four grandsons (the netos).
A word of advice: if you’re not looking for something specific, come with a will and patience to browse. There are many colors and many patterns, but the shop is bright and airy, so you have room to breathe.
Great pool of informations, thank you! Very sad to hear about the “Tile Theft Epidemic”.
Thank you! Yes, unfortunately stealing tiles is still a very profitable crime in Lisbon, I’m afraid.