Immaculate Cobo

Updated Friday, February 16, 2024-21:29

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Dionisio Hernández-Gil (59) is one of the most recognizable and recognized hospitality entrepreneurs on the Costa del Sol. The initial merit of his project was being the first. Madrid vacationers with a certain purchasing power chose Marbella or Palma for their summer break, so Dioni, as friends and acquaintances usually call him, decided to make a splash in Marbella by opening a beach bar on the Santa Petronila beach in 1995. He changed the chairs. plastic and Coca-Cola boxes for wood and gave it a more sophisticated air that soon captivated the public.

His sense of smell led him to locate himself in what was established as the golden mile

of Marbella and his business was filled with well-known faces such as that of the Duchess of Alba, who had her residence right next door.

Hernández-Gil is an important surname. Dionisio comes from a family in which there are renowned jurists, among which his uncle Antonio Hernández-Gil, who was the first president of the Cortes, stands out.

His father, Dionisio Hernández-Gil, was

also one of the most relevant figures in architecture.

Dioni shares a name with his father but has no concerns. For the patriarch it was a "disgust" that his son dedicated himself to the hospitality industry instead of the world of law. Dioni studied Law but decided to turn what he first started as a hobby or fun into a job. "I set up a restaurant with Vicente Sartorius in Velázquez that was a disaster. At the end of the 80s, Madrid was very fun and

I also went into bars at night. At first I did everything for fun,"

the businessman tells LOC.

That first beach bar gave rise to what is today Grupo Trocadero, a set of hospitality projects spread across the Costa del Sol and which also have representation in Madrid, where Dioni reopened the old

Mayte Commodore under his command, a place that wants to turn it into a cultural attraction

hosting book presentations and other events of this type. Culture and sports have always been two areas with which he has wanted to relate from his hospitality business. "We have ten open trocaderos. In Marbella there are four, the Estepona trocadero, the Sotogrande trocadero where we hold a wonderful flamenco festival directed by María de la Luz del Prado Muguiro, a close friend of mine and Pablo Hohenlohe's wife. Also there is that of Tarifa, Benalmádena, Málaga and Madrid".

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The connection point for all is a privileged location and a colonial decoration

that was started by Lorenzo Queipo de Llano and continued by Fernando, Dioni's brother

and head of the Lucas y Hernández-Gil studio. "For example, the one in Malaga is spectacular. Antonio Banderas also bid for it. We spent two years of work to leave it as it is and we have spent almost seven million euros. We take great care of the image. The first impression is what counts and only You can give it once."

Many hospitality groups have partners or investment funds behind them, but in the case of Dioni this is not the case.

"Every trocadero that I open is a very important investment.

If we go outside of Spain, I am already considering partnering with someone."

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FAMILY AND FRIENDS

His company has more than 1,000 employees in total, and something he is proud of is that he often relies on his friends for business. "Luis Sartorius is a lifelong friend of mine. José Carlos from Salamanca too, Bosco Ussía,

Joaquín Fernández de Córdoba also worked with me in his day

. Great friends of mine have been involved. They are people I trust and in this business you need to trust "Confidence compensates for the lack of knowledge in hospitality."

Dioni set up his hospitality empire without prior experience. In 2024 he expects to invoice more than 50 million euros and consolidate the openings that he has made in recent years. Now, with a more than consolidated business, he does not think about the generational change or that his only son will be in charge of succeeding him.

"No, my son is not involved in Trocadero.

I have no interest in him continuing with this nor do I tell him what to do. My wish would be for this to end with me but hey, you never know."

His wife, Marianthi Tserkezis, has started working with him in the company. She also owes Trocadero for having met her since when they met for the first time he was with a friend at his beach bar in Marbella. "My wife is South African. I have been with her for 20 years. 1.85, blonde, no one knew her in Marbella. She is not a model but she could be. She already knew me in this world so she understands me perfectly.

She was with Joaquín Fernández de Córdoba and he invited her to a party

we were having that night at her cousin Pablo Hohenlohe's house. There we started talking and since then we have been together."