Neither did Gurmensindo imagine that his café would end up being considered “the last literary café in Madrid”. In its hall, personalities such as Canalejas, Ramón y Cajal, Pérez Galdós, Romero de Torres, Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, Cossío, Cañabate, Gerardo Diego, Torrente Ballester, Sastre, Cela and an endless etcetera have spoken. In 1914, he sold the premises to the barber Benigno López Jabato, with three conditions: a price of 240,000 reais (more than ten thousand dollars), that it not stop being a café, and that he not change its name. Benigno López died, the widow Mrs. Encarnación Fernández took over the business until her death in 1970. In 1997, Gijón changed into the hands of Mr. Gregorio Escamilla Saceda and his sons continue to run the Gran Café de Gijón.