Owners of traditional Maltese restaurants in Mġarr claim they are being driven out of business by the growing number of illegal eateries.

“They are everywhere and new ones are opening all the time. They’re killing local cuisine,” Mġarr restaurant owner David Micallef said, referring to claims that a number of people were offering catering services from their homes, gardens and other property.

Earlier this month, an illegally developed farmhouse operating as an unlicensed restaurant was closed down following a report by Times of Malta.

But Mġarr restaurant owner Steve Sammut believes that the Gudja restaurant was “just the tip of the iceberg”.

“There must be at least 50 of these places across the island. People emulate successful business models, so they’re sprouting up everywhere,” he said.

Full story in the Times of Malta and timesofmalta.com premium http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130815/local/Boom-in-illegal-eateries-killing-our-local-cuisine-.482156