Characters is a small and cozy snack bar in the heart of Victoria, Gozo where you are sure to be served good food with a smile.
by Charlene Cassar
“You can come here alone, and know that you’re not alone” This must be the best description of a place we have heard in a while. Characters in Victoria, Gozo is a lovely little snack bar to go to if you have plans to meet friends for a bite. If you are out and about and ‘alone’, and looking for somewhere to stop and relax, we suggest this place.
We discovered Characters only recently while out and about in Rabat, during one of our visits in the sister island. It is located near the small outdoor market area, very close to the Citadel Cinema. You’ve probably passed it several times on your visits to Gozo. We enjoyed the location, not to mention the ftira and pizza, in which they specialise, but were particularly impressed with the very friendly service.
We therefore decided to get to know more about Characters. We sat down with Karla Haber, the owner at Characters, for a quick chat, during which she emphasises how friendly service is one of the main strengths of the place. The staff at Characters have ‘building great relationships with their customers’ close to their hearts.
Not only have we experienced this ourselves on our visits, but we have also witnessed other customers coming in and being welcomed by the friendly staff. Every person who walks by or chooses to eat at Characters is greeted with a warm welcome. It was refreshing to see the number of solo customers who are greeted on a name-basis. This is the type of environment they hoped to achieve, and their hard work and charm paid off.
The owner, Karla, is originally from Northern Island but has spent most of her life travelling. When Karla and her husband look for travel destinations, they always are on the lookout for great places to eat and interesting food to try. Prior to settling in Gozo, she had been in Australia.
After years of travel, they decided to settle in Gozo. She loves it. It feels like a home away from home. Since she is originally from Northern Ireland, she feels there is a similar peaceful atmosphere that she remembers from her Ireland. The only real difference is the weather. From rain to sunny skies! “This is my home now”.
Her family is well versed in the culinary arts. Her brother is a chef in Australia and her late father owned his own sandwich bar in England. Karla has always loved catering. When she was working in Malta in an office job, she realised that she had to go back to her love of catering. That is where the idea of opening her own eatery in Gozo was born.
The name Characters originated from an inside joke she had with her fellow colleagues when she was working at the Xewkija Football club. They would joke around that one day she would write about all the different characters they met on a daily basis. This sort of atmosphere was exactly what she wanted for her own eatery. A place where different people would come in, sit and have a bite.
She feels blessed to have a loyal customer base. She has regular Gozitan customers as well as regular Maltese customers who always visit Characters whenever they are in Gozo. Even more impressively, she has tourists who love to come back and visit Characters every time they are on holiday to the island. Characters has a great team of staff who offer great service to the customers. “Even if the customer is coming in for a 50 cent tea, they still should be able to enjoy the experience”.
Karla does have a word of advice for anyone looking to open their own eatery is to really, really love it. You need to want to spend as much time at your eatery as possible, and work like every other staff member! If the toilet needs cleaning, don’t be too proud to clean it yourself. If the kitchen needs a pair of extra hands, go help out. It does the business no good if you, as the owner, are pressuring your staff to rush and be quicker in busy times, rather than helping them yourself.
Karla had a lot of valuable advice to give about staff in an eatery. Look after your staff. They are the face of your business. Let them keep their own tips. It is motivation for them to give better service. Allowing them to keep their own tips “is great for them and great for business”. She personally considers herself as an equal to the other staff. Even though Karla is the owner, she lists herself on the roster with everyone else and does all jobs that are required.
When asked what her favourite part of the job is, she confidently said “definitely the people”. Interacting with people makes my job very satisfactory. She is qualified in business administration but could never settle for an office job which limits her interaction with people on a daily basis. She loves talking and getting to know her customers and this is what makes Characters different from many other places.
The most popular items on the menu are the pizzas and burgers so if you’re visiting, be sure to check them out. A fun fact is that Karla wasn’t a big pizza fan before meeting her husband, but once she tasted his pizza she was hooked. She loves how unique the pizza her husband serves is from other places she has tried. They do serve cocktails but do not associate themselves as a cocktail bar. However, the huge range of ciders is often sought by their frequent customers.
We definitely enjoyed our visits to Characters in Gozo and will definitely visit again. If you’re visiting with your pet, bring him/her with you. Not only is the place pet friendly, but our furry friends are most welcomed to Characters eatery. Characters are open from Monday – Friday till about 4/5pm and during the weekend they are open all day till late, so great hours if you’re thinking of visiting. Hopefully when COVID19 situation calms down they’ll be able to extend their hours even further!
Have you been to Characters? If so, what did you think? Did you enjoy their food? Let us know!
