Updated 6pm after the issue was resolved.
The authorities stepped in on Wednesday afternoon to facilitate access to a small kiosk in Valletta's Tritons Square, shortly after Times of Malta reported that security barriers put up for a weekend festival were keeping customers away.
The kiosk's owners had complained that they were losing around 75% of their business because of the barriers erected for a food festival that continues till Sunday.
Although earlier pleas for a solution had been futile, one of the owners, Simone Galea said on Wednesday afternoon that the authorities had contacted them and found a solution that ensured accessibility to the kiosk without disrupting the food festival.
Galea, who runs the small family business with her father Joseph and her siblings Christopher and Ritienne, told Times of Malta that the barriers had made it almost impossible for anyone entering Valletta to reach their kiosk.
"Just this morning we only saw around a quarter of our usual number of customers. Most of them only bothered to work their way around the barriers to get to us only because they are subscribed to the daily newspapers.
"We're missing out on almost all the tourists and people who usually stop to buy something on their way into Valletta," the owner said earlier.
The kiosk sells confectionery and newspapers.
The family said that the barriers, which were placed to serve as confines to the Malta International Food Festival, are almost entirely blocking access to their kiosk. PHOTO: Jonathan Borg.Galea said her family was concerned because summer weekends were usually the busiest and most profitable for a kiosk such as their's in Valletta, and they feared the problem would repeat itself when other similar events were held in the coming weeks.
"This square is usually teeming with events all year round, but we've never had such problems so far," Galea said.
"Barriers are usually erected behind our kiosk, not in front of it, so access to our business is not blocked."
Questions were sent to the Valletta Local Council.