Gozo Microgreens. Rooted in Gozo
How Local Farming is Thriving One Microgreen at a Time There’s a quiet revolution taking root in Gozo, and it’s happening most unexpectedly. No sweeping
I’m sure these local brothers get asked many a time about how the bar was back then. “We opened about 6 am until 5 pm and we sold tea, coffee and cakes. There were no tourists then, our customers were cargo workers who loved to gamble. They would meet here to play cards, they were crazy to play. It was like a casino! It was a very different time.” But in 1965 things changed and they were told to kick the gamblers out if they wanted to continue running the bar. It was at this time, that they made some internal and decor changes and started to stock more supplies for the increasing visitors but since then the bar has wonderfully, looked the same.
Soon after, tourism was on the rise and even more so through the 80s. One of the incremental reasons why perhaps was English thriller novelist A. J. Quinnell wrote his now best-selling book Man On Fire here in 1981. He had made Gozo his home and refers to the ‘Gleneagles Pub in Ghajnsielem’ as his office in the book. Suddenly, the avid readers from all over the world were coming to visit the little island the book mentioned so much. Especially the author’s local bar! The book was adapted to film in 1987 (Scott Glen) and in 2004 (Denzel Washington).
Many characters have walked through the doors at Gleneagles. Robin Askwith, Brigitte Neilson, Billy Connolly, Liam Gallagher… Imagine those folks around the same dinner table.
Celebrity aside, you couldn’t meet more humbling souls than Tony and Sammy. Proud of their achievements, and married to the job they’ve spent many long hours and late nights serving others at this wonderful old bar. Superior dedication and all in the name of other people’s happiness.
Every day like clockwork, Tony and Sammy open this no-nonsense taproom at 3 pm each day. They get along like a house on fire, are always smiling and laughing and are clearly cut from the same cloth, thriving from seeing people enjoying themselves in their bar.
Nowadays, they employ staff in the evenings but habitually, they are still on hand to help out and chat to customers at night. Both are adamant that it has to remain as a bar when they are long gone. And we agree…how could it ever be anything else?
Gleneagles is a historic Gozitan Institution. Legendary in every sense, it serves as a pit stop, a meeting point, a hideout, and a shelter. A place to have fun and dance the night away, it’s also a ship-lovers’ Shangri-la and a people-watchers’ dream. As a true social hub, it brings together a mix of characters—locals and visitors alike—and for some, it’s a habit we’ll never break. And why should it?
It’s everything it should be and no more.
Photo Credit: Ghajnsielem – Old Photos, Memories and Nostalgia
Here are some remarkably early pictures of Gleneagles Bar from the 1800s, when it was originally known as Il Barrakka. Built in 1732 by the Knights of St John, the structure initially served as the harbour’s barracks and, at the same time, as a sheltered cabin where passengers could wait for boats returning to the mainland.
Over time, its role evolved, and in 1885 the bar was renamed Gleneagles Bar, taking its name from the first Gozo Ferry Line ship. However, history was not always kind. During the war, the building was bombed and severely damaged. Nevertheless, it was rebuilt in stone, and as a result, Gleneagles Bar stands today much as we know and love it, rooted in history, resilience, and character.
“Live and let live and make something people will be happy with.”
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Andrea is the Creative Director and Editor at GITH. Tweet her at @andreabritton or send stories to [email protected].
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