Restaurants on the Edge

We've been invited by restaurants

on the edge of the most beautiful views imaginable.

Who really need some help

keeping their business from going under.

There is nothing more inspiring

than celebrating a community on the plate.

But far too often, the better the view, the worse the food.

This is about reviving not only the restaurants...

Everything's at stake for us.

For us, this is life.

...but also the owners' belief in themselves.

This means the world to me.

Oh, my God!

It's like a part of us here.

So, together, we're traveling the world in search of inspiration

to transform these restaurants into authentic hot spots

that paint a picture not just of that restaurant,

not just of that chef, but of that community.

I'm telling you, my brother. You all changed my life.

Malta is one of the most uniquely beautiful places on the planet.

There's so much history. There's so much story.

There's blue sapphire-colored water as far as the eye can see.

And then, boom... You're hit with this golden rock.

Malta is an archipelago, positioned between Africa and Sicily.

It's very culturally diverse and has thousands of years of history.

So many cultures are represented here

from controlling this island over the last millennia.

It's ancient, but it's also modern.

We're on our way to Marsaxlokk,

the largest fishing village in Malta since ancient times.

For the past year, it's been the home of seafood restaurant Haber 16,

owned by famous goalkeeper Justin Haber.

He's struggling with the business

because he really doesn't know much about being a successful restauranteur.

Marsaxlokk is a very competitive location.

There are a lot of seafood restaurants along the strip,

and Haber 16 is struggling to stand out from the rest.

Justin needs menu items that aren't run-of-the-mill to make him money.

The same goes for the decor.

If Justin wants to catch the eye of customers,

Haber 16 can't look like the competition.

- Do you think it's a seafood restaurant? - I mean, I think it has to be.

I wanna know if these are lunch or not.

There's definitely a nautical theme, but it's not the most inviting.

It doesn't feel like a place that we would wanna sit and hang out in.

Look at how cluttered the bar is.

There's an empty fish tank stacked on top of another empty fish tank.

I can see all the chaos behind the display case.

This is the first thing you see when you walk in.

You only have one shot to make a great impression with a guest.

I'm not getting it right now.

It doesn't feel like it has a soul as a restaurant.

But the bones are here.

Amazing location, beautiful view. It's a lot to work with.

- Hello. Hi. - Hey.

Everybody knows Justin Haber in Malta.

He's a famous goalkeeper for the national team.

I can't express myself to tell you how happy I am that you're here

because I'm not into restaurants. Um...

Did you say you're not too into restaurants?

Well, actually, I'm a football player, so...

- Okay. - Okay?

In addition to his commitments with football,

Justin has a young son to support.

Learning as he goes in the restaurant business

has been a recipe for debt.

To find the balance between football, my family, and the restaurant,

you either have a good time management

or else you're gonna crumble, like actually I'm doing now.

Although I'm always smiling and try to make jokes,

sometimes inside myself, I'm crying.

Nobody sees what's inside the person.

- How long have you had this place? - I opened it a year ago.

However, I started the refurbishment in February 2018.

You know how it is. You have a budget, you go over it,

and then you end up, "What I'm gonna do?"

Are you the interior designer here?

Haber 16 was created from bits and pieces of dreams.

I'm a big dreamer.

And I try to put my dreams inside my restaurant.

I'm a fan of aquariums, so you can see.

- Clearly. - It's the longest aquarium in Malta,

- seven meters. - Oh!

You can't imagine to get it in, what I did.

Although my full-time job is football, I love the fish, I love the sea.

I can't help with football. I'm terrible.

I do have a question.

Do we eat these when we come to eat at your restaurant?

Well, I don't suggest that.

Some people eat them, but not in Malta.

Justin has tried to create a niche

with a menu of high-end, imported shellfish.

I don't think we could've asked for a more perfect setting.

This is gorgeous.

It's one of the reasons I chose this restaurant,

the location and the story behind it.

What is the story behind it?

Marsaxlokk is the village of the fisherman.

And, of course, it brings a lot of legends.

I still believe them, like I believe in mermaids.

From when I was young, I am very connected to the sea.

My grandfather, we used to catch fish

and make aquariums at home to keep them alive.

My grandfather was my best friend, so he taught me all these things.

Are you getting enough people into your restaurant

to keep a successful business?

When I started last summer, it was okay. People were coming and trying.

Then I had really three bad months.

It's a struggle.

It's a big commitment, especially when you have, um, football,

and I have my son.

It's a sad situation for me. I'm in a corridor, black corridor.

If things keep going wrong, I don't know what I'm going to do after summer

where it's our peak of the season.

- This is a lot of shellfish. - Yes.

What do we have here?

We have langoustine coming from Norway.

Black mussels from Greece.

We have the oysters, we get them from Normandy, France.

And then the pasta, it's tagliatelle with ricci.

It's like sea urchin, the specialty of the chef.

Be careful on the oysters because they're aphrodisiac.

- Let's keep it cool. - Don't wanna get too excited at the table.

Yeah.

I'm so disappointed.

I don't understand why he's bringing shellfish in from other parts of the world

when we're on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

Bringing food from all over the world is a major fail,

because it's throwing his food costs through the roof.

Obviously, you're super passionate about seafood,

but it also sounds super costly.

Shipping in all of that seafood from France, from Norway.

It'll be a challenge.

Well, it is a challenge. And, of course, um...

just a small secret between us. I'm not a good businessman.

To have certain products that's rare to find on the Maltese Islands,

I try always to glance the price,

you know, so it's fair, but it's not expensive.

So, sometimes we don't even do the margin that a restaurant should do.

What's at stake for you?

What would it mean to you if you had to close the doors?

Uh, complete disaster. Crash, boom, bang.

How so?

Because the restaurant is not just the plates.

I gave my everything, not only my savings.

There's my name behind it.

I invested my soul in the restaurant, and...

failing is not an option.

But since I was young, I was always... sort of like the underdog.

I am the shortest goalkeeper in the world.

But I make a living out of it and play for my country.

I have to fight against current. Nothing comes easy.

On paper, he's a celebrity. He's famous here in Malta.

And people would think he's got it all figured out.

But, honestly, he's struggling, man.

And I feel like he thinks he's alone, but he's not.

We are here to come alongside him and empower both him

and Haber 16 to crush it.

I'm speechless, really, and, um... thank you. Thank you so much.

This is a small space, but it's actually a big job

because there's a lot of changes that need to happen.

Justin has got a great story.

He's opened a restaurant, he's a soccer player,

he loves to fish, his grandfather taught him about the ocean.

I need to wrap my head around

what we can do here to really make an impact

and really make a big transformation.

This has the potential to be a hot spot.

But this restaurant needs a little sparkle.

Look around Malta, it's beautiful. This restaurant needs some of that.

Justin has a lot at stake right now.

He has his son, Kai, to support.

He has a restaurant he's dumped a ton of money into.

And on top of it, all of Malta is watching him.

- How long has Kai been playing soccer? - Since I think he was two.

He always comes to my games and he cries a lot

when he feels the pressure.

What's the best way you can describe being a goalie?

Well, you can be a hero, where you can save important saves

and you're the hero for the fans.

Or then you just get one shot and a goal, the team lose.

So, the pressure is always on.

You have always to try your best not to concede.

How's your balance been balancing your family life,

restaurant life and life on the field?

Well, complicated. Very much complicated.

Weekends, you have to work.

You don't have those special days that you can relax,

because if I'm not at the restaurant, my mind is there.

As much fun as I'm having with you and your son tiring me out,

I'd love to talk to you in more detail about Haber 16.

Let's go.

In this business, it's important to have thick skin.

I'd like to go over what people are saying online about Haber 16.

- Okay. - All right?

"What should have been a pleasant first experience in Malta

turned into a seafood disaster.

The inside of the restaurant does not present itself well.

We had a table with a tablecloth full of cigarette burns.

Some plates were chipped. Glasses weren't sparkly clean, either.