When your father rings you up to take over a multi-generational run bar for free, even though you just settled your family in England, it’s difficult to say no. At least, that was the case for Julian Borg, owner of The City of London Bar in St Julian's, which will celebrate 110 years in business this year.

The story of the pub, on the doorstep of Balluta, is over a decade old, and now that Julian hit the ripe old age of 80-years-old, he shares his story with WhosWho.mt about the recent challenges and the overall bliss of owning a piece of St Julian’s history.

“It was a hard decision for me, but it was an offer that truly I could not refuse. So, two months later, in 1977, I sold our place in London and moved back. For the first three years, my father stayed with me to give me a hand over and help the transition,” he recalls.

He explains that him and his wife Jacquie purchased a large van, gathered their belongings and drove to Malta. His daughter, Emily, who was only three years old at the time, came to Malta with a couple who were friends of Julian and his wife, and the rest is history.

Three generations of the Borg-run pub

Before belonging to Julian’s father, the City of London Bar was established by his grandfather, Karmnu Borg.

“My grandfather opened the pub with the idea to cater for soldiers who were mobilised to Malta. They used to visit the pub with the karozzini, and then World War II came about, and it was my father’s turn to cater to them,” he says.

He adds that by that time, his grandfather was older and left his father to carry on with the family legacy.

When Julian was a little older, he started working as a barman at Malta’s Hilton Hotel, and gained ample experience by the time his turn arrived to return to Malta take over the City of London pub.

A young Julian working before taking over the City of London / Facebook

‘The best idea I had was the general knowledge quiz, people loved it’

Being surrounded by lots of restaurants and bars, Julian recognised that any pub owner needs to pull their socks up and engage with their community, continuously seeking to change and improve. 

As the years went by, Julian expanded the area and added the terrace, transforming the small pub. Looking back, he states that this is the best area of the pub, and many people enjoy having a drink on the terrace outside, accompanied by Malta’s 300+ days of sunshine. 

From darts to the yard of ale competition and Spanish nights, Julian came up with different activities to help the pub and attract clients. Indeed, he recalls that one of his best ideas was a regular quiz night.

“I organised a general knowledge quiz, which I prepared myself. I wrote the questions, I collected lots of information from newspapers and books, and people loved it. They didn’t drink much but when the pub looks full, it attracts more people. The quiz kept running for four years,” he tells WhosWho.mt.

Despite adding touches to the bar, Julian did his best to retain its authenticity and made the most out of the little space he has inside. Julian explains that the bar is restricted when it comes to seating capacity, due to the large fridges needed to keep the drinks nice and cool.  

Nonetheless, this didn’t stop him from coming up with other ways to save space, adding benches that can be moved according to demands.

A old nostalgic photo shared by The City of London Bar on Facebook

‘What does the future hold for City of London?’

Having just turned 80-years-old, is Julian still involved in the running of the pub?

He explains that he has the honour of being the longest family member out of the three generations to have ran the pub.

Over the years, Julian explains, he shared his wisdom and taught his staff all the crucial things to run a pub successfully. The recipe for success, in Julian’s view, is how one greets customers. “Greeting a customer and being a friend helps. Eventually this will result in a group of regulars.”

Despite not being behind the bar, Julian is still thinking of ways to create a happy atmosphere. He explains that he is thinking of installing a dart board again. “At home, I have loads of board games that I will be adding to the space.”

But what’s next? There is no clear solution for another family member to take over the running of the bar, meanwhile uncertainties surrounding the bar's lease means there is no clear timeframe as to when Julian will exit his life as a pub owner. Asked about what the future holds, Julian says it’s anybody's guess, and will be determined on a number of factors. 

‘To own a pub, you need to have proper experience working in one’

When asked to share some wisdom with future and current pub owners, he said that his advice is simple: if one wants to own a pub, they must go to England and work in one, “even if its just for a few months.”

He strongly believes that when working in a pub, one gains immense experience, not only about how to work with customers, but how to properly run a bar and most importantly how to deal with difficult clients, he says cheekily.

To him, having good experience is crucial, in fact he says he only hires experienced pub workers for his full-time employees. “Obviously we are always there to offer training but having a good foundation is important.”

“At the moment, finding the right staff is a miracle. If not finding another barman, for example, we have the possibility to train a promising waiter,” he adds.

‘Katya used to come here everyday. What a character’

Towards the end of the interview, Julian walked WhosWho.mt through some of the best memories of the pub, frozen in time through a set of photographs displayed on the pub’s walls.

Accompanied by his daughter Emily, she explained that one of the photographs is that of Katya Saunders, Malta’s first openly trans woman. Emily explains that Katya lived nearby and used to visit the pub every day, forming a great relationship with her.

After Ms Saunders passed away, the pub hosted a celebration of her. “She was quite a character. One time she came here with a karozzin, we used to have a laugh,” she adds.

An old photoshoot of Katya, featured on the walls of the City of London 

Continuing where her father left off, his only daughter Emily says that she grew up at the City of London and both her and her friends all worked there at some point in their lives. “I grew up seeing the pub progress over the years. This bar has always been part of my life,” she says.

She recalls her decision to move, saying that she found Malta to be small. So, when the opportunity came to move to the US, when asked to relocate by her employer, she took it.

Looking back, does Julian have any regrets of leaving everything behind and picking up where his father left off?

Even though the City of London was a great opportunity for him, he states that, at the time, he had regrets about leaving England. Both him and his wife had a good job. “We were doing well and its worrying and you do not know if you’ve made the right decision.”

However, as he looks back on his colourful years at the bar, the labour of love of his father and grandfather, he concludes that “since then I realised that it was a very good move.”