Some catering establishments may have lost money and suffered damage to their equipment on Tuesday night but not all got a bad deal from the blackout.

Buġibba kiosk owner Joey Cauchi said the power outage meant his sandwiches sold out halfway through the dinner-time rush.

“I was so busy I sent my son home to get more drinks from the garage and more bread from the baker,” Mr Cauchi said, as he cleared away the bottle crates that had been used as makeshift chairs by hungry customers.

He said he was always busy on a summer’s night, but had only experienced similar demand when parties were held in the nearby Buġibba square.

“I usually have time to prepare when I know it’s going to be a busy night. But yesterday I had so many people that no amount of preparation would have sufficed,” he said.

The nationwide power cut started at nearly 8pm, the peak time for catering establishments. But Mr Cauchi said he had managed to corner the blackout food market.

“People were walking out of darkened restaurants and being drawn to the smell of my burgers and hotdogs,” he said, adding that anyone with a functioning oven had also resorted to ‘kiosk cuisine’.

Restaurateur Silvio Monelli said he looked on bemused as the crowded aluminium food trucks struggled to keep up with foot traffic.

“I even saw people pushing and shoving when tempers flared. It was quite amazing actually, because the lights had only been out for around 20 minutes at that point,” he said.

Philip Fenech, president of the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, raised concerns that the power fluctuation which occurred moments before the lights went out may have affected catering and entertainment equipment.

“The power seemed to surge before going out. This may have had serious effects on fridges and even lighting and musical equipment. We have already had members contact us regarding this issue,” he said, urging them to get in touch with the chamber with any queries on the matter.