Susana O’Dwyer’s passion project, The Red Parrot Pub, was due to open on Friday, till a Government announcement on Thursday revealed Malta’s restaurants, kiosks and snack bars will only be permitted to serve take-aways till 11th April.

The restrictions, coming in the wake of spiralling daily COVID cases, mean The Red Parrot's fully-booked opening night, for which it had acquired all the necessary food and drink stock, will now be cancelled.

Asked for her initial response to the news, she told WhosWho.mt that she was in shock at the situation, which threatens to kill her project in utero.

Asked whether The Red Parrot would be offering takeaway services to its clients, Ms O’Dwyer said she hadn’t decided yet, and that even if she decided to do so, the process would be convoluted and she wouldn’t be able to start immediately.

This is because, according to her, popular takeaway providers in Malta currently have a registration backlog, which means she’d have to wait weeks to start offering the service. By which time, her stock would likely have expired.

Even surmounting that obstacle, she said the fee charged by delivery services was financially untenable.

In fact, she reveals that at only one of her and her family's three bars in Malta that have been allowed to stay open, The Crafty Cat, a kitchen assistant had to be let go so the company could stay afloat.

The Red Parrot was due to buck the general hospitality industry trend by opening its doors for the first time, as opposed to closing them for the last time, as many other businesses have been forced to.

In January, Ms O’Dwyer explained to WhosWho.mt that when the first lockdown struck in March 2020, she had just started a property search to acquire a venue that would become The Red Parrot.

Since then, massive progress had been made on the venue. For those following the progress on the venues' Facebook page, the grand opening was so close it could almost be tasted.

Excitement was building and in February, the Amazon forest-themed Red Parrot was given the support of the Colombian Embassy in Italy and the consulate in Malta.

After the completion of a massive renovation project, the ill-fated opening night was announced.

Uncertainty now reigns supreme. Ms O'Dwyer has no idea when she'll be able to open her venue.

She points out that her and her partner were in exactly the same position in March 2020, when the opening of The Crafty Cat was derailed with days to go by the first lockdown.

By summer when bars were allowed to reopen, she hoped for clear sailing - hopes which didn't materialise.

Half-joking, she pleads, “I don’t know if you believe in God, but any prayers would be good for us”.