Malta’s COVID-19 cases may be rising, but you wouldn’t know it by the sheer number of people eating out over the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday saw village pjazzas and seaside promenades packed with people as they ventured out to enjoy a Maltese summer’s weekend – and after a series of turbulent months due to the ongoing pandemic, Maltese restaurants finally had a much-needed busy weekend.

“I think a lot of people are rushing to use their government vouchers – maybe they think they’ll expire or something,” one restaurant waitress told Lovin Malta on Sunday evening from a busy restaurant, trying to explain the queues.

And it wasn’t only restaurants – takeaways were feeling the sudden rush as well.

“We’re only able to serve 16-inch pizzas this evening – we’ve totally sold out of 12-inches – customers will need to wait at least an hour,” a pizzeria told Lovin Malta on Saturday evening.

Restaurateurs found themselves suddenly dealing with a surge in sales after weeks of slowed-down sales, leading some placed to temporarily halt their delivery services, not take any further orders for pick-up or giving over an hour’s waiting time to be served.

Mario Yacine, the manager of Posh Kebab in Pama, says he believes his establishment experienced a 20% increase in sales over the weekend compared to the previous weekend.

Yacine believed it was due to a mix of things. Many families have received their vouchers by now, and Yacine believed that many families were out due to the upcoming Santa Marija week, a popular annual religious and public holiday happening at the end of this week.

During peak hours, many restaurants pulled themselves off of popular delivery apps as they couldn’t keep up with the demand.

And it wasn’t only deliveries – popular Drive-Thrus belonging to major fast-food chains were slammed as well, with cars snaking out onto main roads as employees wearing yellow vests were called in to handle the cars’ demands.

The surge came as a bit of a surprise to many managers, who feared another slow weekend as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise. However, with restaurant staff abiding by MTA guidelines and all precautions being adhered to, including the social distancing of tables as well as the appropriate amount of hand sanitisers, this weekend gave renewed hope to some who had given up on the summer.

Did you go out to eat this weekend?