A St Paul’s Bay restaurant has closed its doors until the new health restrictions that ban unvaccinated patrons from entering are lifted, saying it was “unthinkable” to treat loyal customers in that way.

I Due Sardi, an Italian pizzeria and spaghetteria, stopped serving its “beloved customers and friends” when the measures came into force on Monday.

“Most of our clients, who have become our friends over the years, did not go for the booster shot or did not get vaccinated,” said owner Fabrizio Longaretti.

“It is not correct or human to now tell them they cannot come and sit in our restaurant.”

In a Facebook post, the restaurant explained that its staff had “never discriminated against any customer, as regards their ethnicity, religion, sexual and political orientation, or the choice of treatments for their own health”.

And it did not intend to start now. Sticking to its “ideals of respect and the free choice of each individual, and respecting the laws in force, we have decided to remain closed to the public until the latest provisions regarding COVID-19 are removed”.

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association hopes the assurance that the measures will be reviewed within 10 to 14 days will be honoured.

The Association of Catering Establishments on Thursday said a survey it had carried out earlier on in the week had shown 14 per cent of the restaurants were considering temporarily shutting down after the introduction of the mandatory vaccination for entry to bars and restaurants. Half were reducing operations, also struggling with lack of staff.

A notice posted to the restaurant door by its owners. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Back to business as usual

Smaller operations, employing few staff, could afford to close down for a period of time, unlike the larger establishments with a big wage bill, said Bjorn Bartolo, co-founder of Manouche Craft Bakery and Bistro, which has five outlets and 60 staff.

The first two days of the restrictions have been abnormally quiet and caused panic, he said. But, by Wednesday, it was business as usual and patrons turned up prepared with their vaccine certificates in hand.

A post outlining the measures the day before they came into force to prepare its clientele attracted a bombardment of abusive comments, he noted.

Some of the messages were so harsh and personal that those who posted them were banned from its social media platforms.

Court bid to block rules

Meanwhile, a group of 17 entertainment businesses and their employees on Sunday asked a court to block the new regulations. The case will be heard next week.

Bar owner Smudge Thomson said she wished to close but no one else would pay her bills.

“What is the point of coming to work when I cannot even let half of my clients in,” she said.

“The vaccine and booster jab are not mandatory, yet they are for me to open my own bar,” she said, describing the situation as an outrage.

For restaurateur Anthony Scicluna, the new measures are “tyranny at its best” and the pass is “more about a control exercise than about positive health and business measures”.

“We are now being forced to do the authority’s job,” said the Ayu and Café Jubilee owner.