Few have not stopped outside Jessie’s Bar, in St Andrew’s, at some point in the last 55 years whether to grab a bottle on the way to a party or some nibbles for a day on the beach. They will have to find another alternative soon as an era comes to a close.

We have been selling the newspaper for almost 70 years – up to 700 copies of The Sunday Times at one point

“All good – and bad – things have to end and our time has come,” say the four siblings, part of the furniture and fittings of the landmark corner bar, who, regrettably, are too tired and old to continue running it.

Since 1955, they have worked hard and long days – between 6.15 a.m. and at least 10.30 p.m., seven days a week. Now, they have decided to throw in the towel, having been unable to pass on the business to the next generation, and dedicate, while they still can, the rest of their days to other interests that have been put on hold for a lifetime.

Past memories are present on a nostalgic Sunday morning – business as usual even though it is Easter Day – as the two brothers and two sisters, aged between 67 and 73, recall how it all began.

Back in 1921, their mother, Jessie, started the business across the road, serving tea and bread to “the services”, stationed at the army camp in St Andrew’s.

These remained important customers and, in fact, the bar’s walls are also plastered in army emblems and badges, which one of the owners, Peter Bezzina, 67, has collected over the years. He plans to move them to a property down the road, where he is setting up a sort of “museum of the story of Jessie’s Bar” – such is its legacy.

A Royal Marine’s reunion, held annually in November, is actually one of the highlights of the bar.

Among the army memorabilia are also images of Jessie, who remained “the boss” until she passed away 21 years ago. Not once did she use a calculator and, during the war, she never descended to the shelter their grandmother had built but remained behind the bar – even up to an hour before giving birth.

Her offspring, familiar faces even to those who merely rush in and out to pick up the newspaper, were practically born and bred in Jessie’s.

Doris, 70, has been behind the bar since she was nine and Maryann, 73, started helping out at 13, trading in her education at 15 to join her siblings. Today, they may be hobbling along, aided by a walking stick, but letting go is leaving behind a heavy heart. Maryann cannot imagine how she brought up three children, without leaving that bar. “I could never take them to the beach and the swings without rushing.” But her only regret about being so dedicated to Jessie’s is that she could never learn to play an instrument and satisfy a passion for classical music.

The owners of Jessie’s Bar, Francis, Peter, Doris and Maryann, sadly wave goodbye to an era of bartending and more… Photos: Paul Zammit Cutajar

Among the stories she has to tell, the one that “takes the biscuit” is about a man who bought a packet of Players cigarettes and a chocolate in 1952. What he owed was written on a specific book and the man was expected to pay once he received his wage.

It took him 50 years to settle his dues because he had had to leave the island. But he did return, Maryann pointed out, even though half a century had passed, and gave her €4.66 “because of inflation”.

Back in the day, Jessie’s Bar was the only shop in the St Andrew’s area that offered the convenience of opening on Sundays and public holidays. It serviced Madliena residents, even storing milk, bread, a carton of eggs and, of course, the paper for them to pick up on a Sunday.

“We have been selling the newspaper for almost 70 years – up to 700 copies of The Sunday Times at one point,” says Francis Bezzina, 72.

Work increased with the growth of the surrounding Swieqi and Pembroke area from “27 families we knew well 40 years ago to a population of about 8,000 households”.

But Jessie’s was also negatively affected by the development as supermarkets and other shops mushroomed in the neighbourhood.

“We will miss the company of our customers – from sweepers to solicitors… Former Prime Minister George Borg Olivier used to come and buy his Senior Service cigarettes in the 1950s. Now we have his sons,” Francis says.

The late novelist Francis Ebejer used to call at the bar every evening and would be seen writing away in the corner, he recalls.

It was not just the strategic location, on the corner of Ta’ l-Ibraġ and the busy St Andrew’s Road, the fresh ħobż biż-żejt, or a chocolate craving at some odd hour that secured Jessie’s success. The friendships the siblings struck up across the bar were also a pulling factor.

And, till this very day, prices have been kept low compared to St Julians bars down the road, with a whisky costing 80c and a beer €1.20. For Francis, the strategy was always: “small profit and good turnover”.

Customers – and their dogs – are feeling “lost and confused” now that their favourite hangout is about to close after 55 years in the business.

But it is time for him to push the accounts, which he was responsible for, aside. After four years, a buyer has been found and the plan is to turn Jessie’s into more of a take-away outlet.

“The Moscow Kremlin may be closed; the Vatican may be closed. But Jessie’s never closes.” That was the bar’s long-standing motto… but no more, much to the dismay of its regulars, who feel they are about to lose a family and plan to knock at their home door once they shut.

On Sunday morning, the siblings continue to dispense drinks across the counter, applying just the right pressure to slide that glass of JB – the most popular whisky because “it stands for Jessie’s Bar” – into their esteemed customers’ hands.

Each table is occupied by a solitary regular, reading the paper and sipping a glass of tea. Grey-haired patrons recall they were blonde when they started frequenting the bar, aged 14.

It’s a home away from home, their stories are known, and many admit to feeling “lost and confused”.

You would be if you have frequented the same bar for the last 30 years, both morning and night, and have already been in and out three times that morning alone!