For sure, neither Maria Maragouthaki or Stavroula Siopoulou are old enough to have tuned into the hippy Bohemian scene of a few decades ago, but somehow they have caught the essence of that time and applied it to their combined business venture.

And, the Bohem Café in Kokkini Hani is true to its name, providing a simple yet refined note in the entertainment of young and old.

The idea came about quite suddenly to the owners-partners of the Bohem.

"Six years ago, with a degree in marketing, I came to Crete on holiday, settled in Kokkini Hani, and decided to stay," said Stavroula, 30, who is originally from Kastoria, but lived for most of her life in Thessaloniki.

Maria, 28, having lived in Athens all her life, visited Crete five years ago to begin a two-year course in being a life-guard. She, too, decided to live in Kokkini Hani.

"Both living in the same town, we met, became friends and decided to go into business together," Maria recalled.  "But we weren't sure, at first, what exactly we wanted to do; just that it had to be something which would represent our culture and lifestyle."

The offspring of their collaboration is Bohem Café, which they started about three years ago.

The inner world of the café combines stone with wood, photographs and paintings that journey you back to other eras, with good recorded rock, soul and jazz music, which is Maria's baby, and live music every Wednesday and Sunday.

What made these two ladies venture into the highly competitive world of running a bar, where night work is mandatory?

"We thrive on the competitiveness," Maria said. "We know we're offering something a bit different from the local bars and clubs, but we also know that we must keep ahead of the game."

"That's why we keep offering new things," Stavroula continued. "For example, for this month we will have a painting, sculpture and photography exhibition."

"Everything we're doing here is original, and done in our own way," Maria added. "There were many who tried to offer suggestions, thinking that, as women, we would need help as bar owners. Of course, some of these were people who didn't succeed in their own ventures." 

Of course, running a café keeps these ladies busy almost 24/7, but when they do get some down time they share an interest in photography. Also, Maria has been into martial arts for 14 years (good sport for handling unruly customers), while Stavroula is an expert backgammon player and attends amateur tournaments regularly.