You may know us here at Pura Vida Ibiza as a modern-contemporary beach restaurant located directly on the beach of Playa Niu Blau, Santa Eulalia. However, you may not know our evolution as a family business, originating as far back as the mid-1970s.

Our story began with our parents, Roland and Sigrid in 1976, who, as a young couple, left Germany after deciding to relocate and settle down in Ibiza to start their very own Beach Bar Chiringuito and Restaurant, ‘Mar Azul’ in Siesta. Thanks to their humble and admirable beginnings, almost 45 years ago, they have led us to where we are today.

Now, proud owners of five successful companies here in Ibiza, collectively known as ‘Samos Group’, our family business is a result of their hard work, passion, dedication, and tremendous outlook, even during the most challenging of times.

Samos Group… The Development

‘Mar Azul’ Restaurant and Beach Bar Chiringuito was just the beginning. After a couple of years in the restaurant business, our parents took on a new project, ‘Samovar Cafe and Bar’, which later extended into a full daytime and evening local restaurant.

During this time life got very busy, and so both our grandparents came to help us as a family. One Grandma who was an expert in baking cakes, special gateaux, and farmer’s bread initiated the start of our family Pasteleria Aleman, baking and supplying her delicious homemade products to our family-restaurant, and later in-turn the local community.

Then later, although a difficult decision, directly next door to Samovar, our parents opened a small local store, which became our official bakery, delicatessen, and local supermarket.

Moving into our adulthood, both of us siblings (Daniel & Alexandra) had been away, spending time overseas, studying and working in the hospitality industry. It was a natural decision for us to eventually return home to the family business, and with our new skill-set and knowledge, we both set our hearts and minds on making the family business grow. Myself, (Alexandra) met my husband Goran, whilst working in gastronomy in Austria, and together we came to Ibiza, with Goran bringing his passion for fine wines, later starting his own wine distribution company (2015)

The year before the beginning of the Spanish Financial Crisis, we were presented with the opportunity to lease Pura Vida Beach Restaurant. With personal childhood memories of us spending long summer days at this simple beach chiringuito, arriving on our Barco (boat) and ordering ‘Pan Aioli’ and regular coke, we were ready and incredibly excited to take on the challenge together. Here was the beginning of Pura Vida Beach Restaurant, Santa Eulalia - one of our most significant and cherished memories.

Around the same time, we went on to open another bakery in Santa Eulalia, which later expanded to a larger location, and extended into a Delicatessen and Cafeteria, selling our baked goods, local produce, and high-quality German products to the local community, known as Samos Deli.

Alexandra Sanwald-Sixt, left her dream career, following her heart and the love of her life, Daniel (now married) and joined our family, creating a PR and Wedding Planning Service within Pura Vida Beach Restaurant, the perfect entrepreneurial lead for events at Pura Vida. During this time, Alexandra started Six Communication PR and Events Agency, launching major brands and events here in Ibiza, like Simba and organized events with Sony Ericsson, and T-Mobile. After 7 years of successful wedding planning, Alexandra took her service as a wedding planner to the next level, officially opening her own company Ma Cherie Weddings Ibiza, the very same year as her firstborn son.

Here we found another niche in the market for high-quality catering, which led directly to ‘The Ibiza Catering’. A catering brand, delivering quality cuisine and professional hospitality standards with a passion to ‘get it right’.

Recently, we decided to reinvent Samovar; our traditional family restaurant where it all began, with a new concept, as ‘The Village’. Samovar is where we spent our childhood and has been our living room for many years, the same living room we still love to share with our guests today.

To read our full story in detail, check out ‘Samos Group Ibiza… It’s a Family Business!’.

Samos Group… Our Passion

Our five companies are a product of our passion. From childhood, we have observed, learned, and instinctively knew from our parents, the hard work and dedication that was in front of us. We always felt part of something great, entwined into our family structure, which came with some memories and wonderful rewards.

The feeling of seeing our customers enjoy the fruits of our hard work is incomparable. It doesn’t matter if you simply pick up and enjoy one of our freshly made loaves of bread, sit and enjoy a coffee and cake with friends from our ‘Samos Deli’ Cafeteria, relax over a glass of wine at ‘The Village’, or have lunch in ‘Pura Vida’; our passion drives us to ensure every one of our customers receives the highest quality of food and welcoming customer service.

At the end of the day, WE LOVE FOOD, HOSPITALITY & EVENTS. Our passion keeps us on our toes, constantly searching for the latest culinary trends and optimising our customer satisfaction. And, when every one of us gives our best together as a family, beautiful memories are created.

We have always had an advantage that has greatly contributed to our success… trust. We have to divide responsibilities, accept differences in opinion, and work in a way that all of our skills deliver results as a team. Of course, from time to time there is some friction, but that’s the same with all families, healthy and normal.

Being part of a family business is a big challenge, but we all get on very well together. We know we can rely on each other, which makes us strong and successful. Ultimately it is our trust and love that keeps us focused on our common goal and passion for our work.

For the very same reason, we believe our businesses have special qualities. We trust and love each other and this is represented by the work we produce. What we pour in and out of each other, spills over and affects the standard of care we deliver in our professional lives. And, this is evident from the trust and feedback we receive from our customers and clients.

Samos Group… Our Vision & Mission

It is not a big secret, our vision and mission are to always see quality and raw ingredients, using local produce as much as possible, and delivering the very best hospitality and event management services on the island.

As we move even further into a digital world, we try to ensure our industrial equipment never takes away from handcrafted production, and we try to maintain as much KM0 transportation and eco-friendly operations as possible throughout all of our companies.

We need to stay ahead of trends, always learning and seeking new opportunities and influences. Our studies taught us that learning from others and a willingness to take on a new perception can lead to the confidence to experiment and expand. Daniel learned first-hand large volume global shipping from his work experience in China, which led to us feeling optimistic and prepared to export our Samos Deli loaves of Bread to Mallorca on a grand scale.

Pushing boundaries has created many special moments for us, especially with big investments. It makes us proud and happy that our constant ability to exceed our expectations and seek new horizons also contributes to our island, creating employment for others and enabling wonderful community relations.

Samos Group… Ibiza’s life

Ibiza is our home and we love to live here. Life is not always easy, but the island gives us a lot in return and we would never want to live anywhere else despite being offered many alternative business opportunities overseas. The world is constantly moving faster, and so is Ibiza. Sometimes we think we will slow down and take our daily work more easily, but then we realise we have to move at the same pace, adapt, innovate, and enjoy the island from a business perspective as much as a personal one.

We would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank our parents Roland and Sigrid for their hard work, encouragement, and role modeling over the years that have made our family business possible. It is certainly not overlooked, and with all the love in the world, we are eternally grateful for the foundations of Samos Group which started many moons ago.