Limited reopening of Restaurants and Bars on May 10

Added: 25 April 2021

Restaurants and snack bars will reopen on Monday 10th May, with a restricted opening time of up to 5pm. After this time, only take-away or delivery orders can be handled.

This was announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela said at a press conference today Sunday 25th April.  In another exercise to boost the economy, Government will also be issuing a second batch of consumer vouchers in the coming weeks.

See full press conference here: https://www.facebook.com/MaltaGov/videos/170298561629290

Reaction from the Association of Catering Establishments (ACE):

ACE welcomes first step to full opening and issuance of Vouchers

The partial opening of Restaurants and Snack Bars is the first step to assist restaurants in trying to survive. The issuance of vouchers will certainly assist in order to kick-start the economy . ACE calls on the general public to help entrepreneurs as much as possible by planning their relaxation  during the time allowed for restaurants to  open.

ACE calls on Government once again to allow catering establishments to open in full by 17^th May 2021. There is still no evidence that restaurants are the cause of spread and consequently there is no scientific or logical reason to risk entrepreneurs’ livelihoods. The concept of legal proportionality in a democratic society is not being followed by the Health Authorities.

ACE calls once again on rigid enforcements on crowd gathering in order to avoid the same issues due to which our members were  forced to close in spite of the large majority observing the protocols.

Reaction from the Malta Hotels & Restaurants Association (MHRA):

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) notes as positive the announcement made by the Prime Minister Dr Robert Abela of a plan to gradually reopen our restaurants as at least this ends speculation which was creating painful uncertainty.

MHRA however believes that the announced of the reopening conditions will not be of much help to the majority of restaurants to ensure sustainable operations of their business.

MHRA President Tony Zahra states that, “it’s positive that we now have a date for the re-opening of restaurants but opening only for lunch does not make business sense for the majority of restaurants.  Many restaurants will continue to remain under a lot of pressure and our appeal to Government is to allow restaurants to serve dinner too whilst ensuring proper enforcement measures to guarantee that rules are abided for by all.”

MHRA reiterates its support to the principle of protecting lives and livelihoods, but unfortunately restaurants are still paying the highest price as no business can survive if they cannot serve customers. The core business model of most restaurants depends on both lunch and dinner, mainly dinner, and therefore for many it will not be feasible to open for lunch only.

MHRA is greatly concerned that such a situation will keep jeopardizing the jobs and investment in this sector. MHRA reiterates that it’s positive that we have a reopening date but it’s not enough to save our restaurants.