Entrepreneur Frank Grima expressed his optimism in the local business environment and is set to make several substantial investments locally over the next two years.
Speaking to The Sunday Times at Le Souk, one of two newly opened restaurants at Portomaso, he affirmed: "Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work! I think the potential in Malta is enormous. I can see it and other people see it.
"Maybe not everybody sees it. But by moaning we are not going to get anywhere, for sure," he said, referring to the locals' penchant to complain about everything.
"I have always thought very positively about the local business environment and today I feel more strongly and positively than ever. We are in a bigger market, so let's tap into it. It's there. If we sleep on it, we can lose out. So, let's get down to business - everybody - and get on with it."
Mr Grima is certainly not short of ideas. I reminded him of the last time I had spoken to him when he had just opened the Argentinian Steakhouse in Paceville. He had started importing his beef from Canada and he looked back on the way he had overcome the BSE crisis that had hit him so hard.
Over the past five years, he has increased the number of outlets he owns or has a shareholding in to 27 and the number of employees from 200 to 600. By the end of next year he intends to double the number of outlets he owns and take up the number of staff to 700.
The major growth engine for Mr Grima's business is to be a chain of what he is calling Future Shops around Malta. The first six are to be open by June. "I have noticed on my travels that people are opting more and more for fresh food," he observed.
"We are calling them Future Shops because we are going to have some attractions which I cannot reveal at the moment." What he did reveal was that shoppers with young children can leave them in a room where they can watch TV while they shop. They will also be able to obtain new recipes at the touch of a button and, with the help of attendants, get all the ingredients they would need from the shops.
Mr Grima is to source his food from no fewer than nine countries. Practically all of it will be fresh, but there are also frozen foods from countries whose products are rarely available here. "This is a market I am looking after myself," he said. "I believe there is a demand for it. The market is changing around the world. The semi-cooked market in Britain and the US and Canada has taken over."
Mr Grima has so much faith in this new venture he intends to have 20 such outlets opened by the end of next year.
The outlets are to be supplied by The Barbecue World, which also supplies the Argentinian Steakhouse chain. He is merging this business with another company and already has an EU-certified factory at Burmarrad. He is investing heavily in technology, including sausage machines producing 700 sausages per minute.
A master beef cutter, with laser technology, produces 100 steaks a minute and even packs it in CO2 gas, which keeps it fresh for 14 days," Mr Grima explains. "We are investing in another machine that keeps the chilled meat fresh for 32 days.
"This will help the local market but we are doing export as well. We have the capacity to fill two 40-foot containers a day. In fact, we've been invited to a fair in Italy where we are going to market our products." He already has clients in Italy that send the merchandise over for processing.
Two of the latest outlets he has opened at Portomaso, The Bed (Korean restaurant) and Le Souk (Middle East and North African cuisine), have attracted the interest of foreign investors who have invited to take the concept of these restaurants abroad.
Mr Grima said he is taking both The Bed and Le Souk to Calgary in Canada and The Bed is to be opened as both a restaurant and night club in Victoria in the centre of London.
"I took the concept away with me, took some pictures and we are negotiating with some investors who want us to do the design over there. They want to do it in partnership, and are even prepared to put up finance so that we will do it in their own countries and I will have a shareholding.
"We are using Maltese builders and all the material for Le Souk is being bought in Morocco. The material for The Bed can be sourced locally but the designers will be Maltese and it is my concept."
Another business venture that Mr Grima has been pondering for many years is to open a night club catering for the older generation who constantly complain that they have nowhere to go. He sees this outlet as important also to cater for the growing conference and incentive business that would typically stay in a five-star hotel, obtain five-star food but have no equivalent entertainment.
The project is in an advanced stage, with plans already drawn up. He declined to mention the exact location but he led me to believe it would be in the St Julian's area close to all the five-star hotels which, he said, cried out for such an entertainment venue.
The décor is to be Twenties style - Charleston. It will accommodate up to a thousand people: 600 seated and 400 standing, including VIP areas, areas for smokers and a fully-fledged stage and sound system for live bands, cabarets and international revues.
"We are going to have an excellent level of service and we are going to have plenty of services available in the bathroom - from doing your hair and make-up for free, to perfumes and toiletries that pamper you, plus TV screens and music.
"It's going to be something we have not seen before in Malta and something for our age group where to enjoy our evenings. It won't be very expensive, but you can package it with dinner at one of my restaurants in the vicinity."
He is particularly keen to do some 'Nostalgia Nights' with one midweek evening every month dedicated to a particular age group: 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and even 70s. "Once a month, we will cater for these people so that they will meet others of their own age and maybe friends they haven't seen for years.
"We are doing a package: choose any of my restaurants. We can even provide transport in some areas... and we will provide the meal and the club, including service with a bottle of wine or champagne, and we will pamper them as best as we can."
As if all this were not enough, Mr Grima is also working to set up a privately operated national park to enable him to tap into family entertainment.
"I am looking for land available (and) talking to some people discussing if they are interested in giving the land in return for partnership." He has in mind what he describes as "a beautiful project". He was a bit reluctant to give many details because of his innovative ideas but he said he would need a large area to accommodate on-site parking, fishing, a barbecue area and a relaxation area, including playing fields, football pitches, tennis courts and saunas.
Families would be able to use the amenities on site for barbecues and buy the food at the park - so no carrying of all the paraphernalia with them. "This will not be very expensive," Mr Grima affirmed. "It will most probably be cheaper to eat there than to eat at home - and it will be a full day out for all the family."
Mr Grima is certainly not shying away from new ventures. Despite these new projects, he said he enjoys doing new things. "I like to venture. I do my numbers, my studies, my homework, but I take a lot of risks as well. No pain, no gain."