Giuseppi’s Bar & Bistro has announced that it has taken the “difficult decision” to start closing on Tuesdays due to the staffing crisis facing the industry.

The outlet, based at the Salini Resort, took to Facebook to inform its followers of the decision.

“Dear guests, kindly be advised that, regretfully, due to the serious staff shortage issue our industry is currently facing, and also for our current team’s wellbeing, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close Giuseppi's on Tuesday's.”

Giuseppi’s continued: “All other days are business as usual. We are sorry for this inconvenience and hope to be back into full swing shortly!”

It implored patrons to remember that “even though we are more than happy to be there, doing what we love most, please be considerate with your servers they are trying their hardest, with the limited resources available, and that smile doesn't come easy when exhausted.”

The hospitality and restaurant sectors are currently facing a severe shortage of workers, forcing them to come up with ways to deal with the crisis.

The Seafood Market Grill, for example, announced in June that it would no longer be serving lunch.

“Unfortunately, our restaurant was hit directly as others in the hospitality sector, with the loss of competent workers to work, who left the island during the pandemic, and a lack of Maltese people interested in serving and waiting in a restaurant setting!” it said.

The new CEO of the Association of Catering Establishments (ACE), speaking to BusinessNow.mt, said, “In this peak season, especially after the year they’ve had, restaurants want to take advantage of all prospective customers, even if the staff shortages both in the kitchen and in the front of house make it difficult to do so.

“Ironically, this is leading to a problem in the quality of the product and the customer experience.”

Earlier in June, The Malta Chamber President Marisa Xuereb floated the idea of restaurants turning to AI and technology to plug the existing gap in workers.

“The key to recovery is productivity, which means doing more with fewer people. Nowadays, we’re talking about driverless cars. Is it so hard to imagine an automatic trolley delivering food to a table?”

Matthew Pace, Secretary General of ACE, backed Ms Xuereb’s vision.

“It is something the sector needs to look into and understand more about. We need to think outside the box if we are going to face these challenges head-on.”