About
Cantera Collective is a lifestyle collective built around people, ideas, and experiences that bring communities together.
Read our story
Our story
Founded on the belief that great ideas deserve the freedom to flourish, we partner with chefs, founders, and creatives to build brands that are authentic, sustainable, and built for the long term. From restaurants and bars to experiences, collaborations, and future lifestyle ventures, we provide the platform, resources, and expertise that allow visionaries to focus on what they do best.
Our role is simple: to nurture exceptional concepts, support exceptional people, and create places that become part of people's everyday lives.
Why Cantera
Cantera is a Spanish word for quarry — where raw stone is shaped into something lasting.
In sport, it carries a second meaning: the youth academy, the place where the right conditions let talent become something great.
Both meanings feel true to what we do.
Core team
Alex’s path into hospitality was less a straight line and more a growing obsession. A passionate home cook and avid traveller, he has long sought out memorable restaurants and interesting food around the world. It was through dining that he first met José—as a guest at his restaurant—and what began with a shared appreciation for food developed into a genuine friendship.
When José decided to open his own restaurant during the pandemic, the two became business partners. That first leap eventually grew into Cantera Collective.
As Co-Founder, Alex works closely with José on the collective decisions that shape the group’s future. Their path was never mapped out from the beginning; it has been an ongoing process of testing ideas, learning from experience and building on what works—from how each restaurant looks and feels to the concepts, strategies and ambitions behind them. More than co-partners, Alex sees them as co-dreamers, continually imagining what Cantera Collective could become next.
Alex and José are regular padel rivals—and, according to Alex, he occasionally lets José win when he is having an off day.
