Café Jubilee is to open a flagship bistro within the next 12 months, bringing its chain to four in the company's tenth year.
Chief executive officer Alex Scicluna declines to reveal the location of the new venture, but points out it will be in an important position where it will rub shoulders with international franchises, and that it features enough space for the implementation of a few new ideas. That's all the information he offers about Café Jubilee No. 4.
"It is time Café Jubilee is positioned among the big brands," Mr Scicluna says. "We have worked hard for the business to be as successful as it is today. This truly Maltese brand can hold its own."
Mr Scicluna, bursting as he is with passion and enthusiasm, describes (in a strange range of Maltese and English tinged with an unidentifiable foreign accent like most Gozitans, and a wider range of gesticulation) that he does not cut corners, opt for half measures, or curtail ambitions.
Hence a wider plan. By planting a flagship on a high street, Café Jubilee aims to demonstrate just how it can win patrons despite the tough competition. That showcase will serve for potential international investors to observe the operation in that setting, and possibly visualise a Café Jubilee franchise in a similar scenario in a European or even Middle Eastern city.
Barely able to sit still as he outlines his ambition - Café Jubilee would be the first chain of café/bistro to be totally conceived locally and exported - Alex Scicluna turns to the beginning.
When he and his younger brothers Mario and Anthony opened the first Café Jubilee in Victoria in 1998, the concept was clear in their heads.
"The farmhouse look had been done to death," Mr Scicluna recalls. "We went in the opposite direction. We had wooden flooring instead of polished traditional tiles. Everyone else was stripping walls - we chose rich mahogany panelling, original wallpaper and framed prints from our own library to cover ours. We even covered the ceiling with antiques and replicas."
Café Jubilee became hugely popular with Maltese holidaying on the sister island. But in the low season, the main clientele disappeared. It was decided that the business would go to its core market and a second Café Jubilee opened in Valletta's St Lucy Street in 2000. The brothers defied warnings that the capital died after the shops closed, and put up a sign indicating opening hours between 8 a.m. and 1 a.m. Patrons packed it out almost instantly.
The menu, which has been changed three times in 10 years and last tweaked in 2008, taking advantage of a necessary reprint because of the euro changeover, was never designed to offer three-course meals.
"We opted to serve wholesome meals and snacks to patrons visiting at different times of the day and evening," Mr Scicluna explains. "There's breakfast, quick bites, light meals, specials and desserts. It's not instantly obvious, but we appeal to patrons' five senses - the music, the ambiance, the décor, even the aromas, have been given careful consideration."
In 2005, with Valletta done and dusted, the brothers set their eyes on a corner property on Gzira's The Strand that was perfectly located between two thriving business communities in Ta' Xbiex and Sliema. The footprint was significantly larger than the Valletta bistro so the Café Jubilee concept was applied to allow patrons to have more standing space while retaining the trademark enclosed warmth. The patrons turned up in droves there too.
Meanwhile, Café Jubilee has been showcased at the Budapest Expo, the European Franchise in Brno, and the Master Franchise Conference in Munich. The Sciclunas believe their bistro concept would travel very well - in the hands of the right people.
Mr Scicluna says it took two years for the brothers to put the ideas and concept behind Café Jubilee on paper, but a brand guideline was eventually produced and packaged to be presented to enquiring investors.
Through their bankers, HSBC Bank Malta, the Sciclunas were introduced to franchising consultancy firm Howarth International UK and marketing consultants have been appointed to float the franchise among brokers in central and eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
"European food and beverage ventures work very well in the Middle East," Mr Scicluna points out. "In fact, 60 per cent of the concept remains intact. The consultants are working to match the brand with the appropriate investors. Some individual investors expressed interest in a Café Jubilee franchise but they couldn't see beyond the romanticism of the venture and walked away from it. A catering franchise requires hard work and tenacity. Experienced investors in the catering industry would probably suit Café Jubilee better."
Café Jubilee has had a stab at diversification and its portfolio includes the Nanna brand of frozen foods, particularly ravioli and the soon-to-be-introduced pastizzi (with Gozo cheese) which are distributed to major local supermarkets. The Gzira bistro also runs a successful fully-fledged take-away delivery service to nearby offices. A loyalty scheme to reward Café Jubilee's most faithful patrons for their support over the years has also proved popular.
But a franchise chain overseas?
"We have had numerous foreign patrons telling us how much they enjoyed the Café Jubilee experience and how it would be great to be able to visit one in their city," Mr Scicluna says. "Someone said recently we were swimming upstream, going from family business to franchisor. We're doing it again - taking Café Jubilee to where people would like it to be. Our dream is to see a Café Jubilee sign in a foreign country. We'll get there eventually."