A view of the shop 2008 -- Photo by Laetitia Agius
The location as seen in 1900.This little shop on the main road at Pretty Bay must be rated with other places of history that belong to the town of Birzebbuga. It was operating in the early 1930s and most likely even before that period of time.
Used to be called ' il hanut ta Toni l' barbier '. That was Toni Brincat.
What is special about this little shop is that during the years of WW2 it stayed open every day even during the peak of the German blitz on Kalafrana RAF base and Hal Far airfield. Of course there must have been other places that stayed open during the days of WW2 but what stands out in my memory is that a small group of Birzebbuga men who had absolutely no fear of the bombs that rained on and around the village, they used to gather every day near the shop and while the air raids were on and bombs were being dropped by the German bombers this small group of men never went down in the air raid shelters. Luckily no bombs fell close by that location. The bar / coffee shop next door was a handy place for them to enjoy a glass of tea or coffee.
