We are going back to Kalami for a week in October. Although we have never stayed at the A & A we do use the supermarket there and have had lovely chats with the couple there, I think Joanna and Spiros? I know that they have a little nephew Dimitris, and are related in some way to Gina who I have read is in reception at the A & A. Just trying to establish all the family that run the place, and I am sure that someone here will put me right!!
Also, is there any family connection with the Kalami beach Taverna - someone told me last year that there was?
Message posted by BoltonLynda on 27 August 2009 at 4:45pm - IP Logged
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Spiros is Stavros (the bar manager who does the Greek dancing) brother. Stavros is married to Maria and they are mummy and daddy to Dimitris. Not sure where Gina fits into the picture! I think that the Kalami Beach Taverna are connected in some way with the folks who run the supermarket further down the lane in the village, and the travel office just around the corner. Then there is Thomas Taverna - Thomas is the brother of Dimitris (of Dimitris taverna up on the main road)
Message posted by Deedee on 27 August 2009 at 5:14pm - IP Logged
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Deedee
I don't know if Gina is actually related to Stavros & Spiros. I think it may be that she has worked there for so long and fitted in so well that she has become part of the family. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking that Sam and Billy had been there forever but they were not working there the first time we visited. That was in October 2001, Gina was on reception then (4pm till 10pm, Maria did the day shift) and I didn't get the impression that it was her first season. Stavros and Spiros' mum worked the shop then. We didn't meet Joanna until 2003 or 2004. Maybe Gina and Joanna are related?
As Linda says, Kalami Beach Taverna, the Blue Bay tourist office and the middle supemarket are all owned/run by members of the same family. I believe that the lovely Angela of the Sunshine Tourist office is related to the Thomas'& Dimitri's taverna families. Nikos, who used to work at the Bella Vista pool bar at the A & A until 3-4 years ago and since then has worked at the craft shop is also part of that family.
I'm not sure about the other end of Kalami but it wouldn't surprise me if there are more extended families. It must contribute to the feel and atmosphere of the place and be part of the reason Kalami is such a pleasant place to be.
Deedee
Message posted by Lindy on 27 August 2009 at 6:02pm - IP Logged
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Thank you both for that information - perhaps I misunderstood about Gina. It seems that there are two or three families who run most of Kalami in one way or another, but they are all so lovely wherever you go.
Message posted by BoltonLynda on 30 August 2009 at 12:06pm - IP Logged
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Deedee - maybe Billy wasn't there when you had your holiday, but he has been working at the A & A for almost as long as we have been going to Kalami (and thats 15 years). The first year we went, Spiros was there, but Stavros was part of the dance group that comes on a Sunday night (we have photos of him somewhere complete with pleats and pom poms!!) Billy wasn't there then, but he was there the following year, and he only worked in the afternoons. And that year, Stavros was working the bar (I though I was imagining that I remembered him from the previous year, till I saw him dancing again!)
Down at the other end of the village, the man who now runs the Kalami Bar is the husband of the woman who runs the souvenir shop opposite the Cocktails and Dreams bar, (and SHE went to school with the brothers from the A & A) and I think the couple who run the shop underneath it are in some way connected to Tassos (of the boat hire)
As you say, it all contributes to the "villagey" feel of the place!!
xxxx
Message posted by Ellenjay on 30 August 2009 at 9:33pm - IP Logged
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