Sandro Ricci & Alice Benítez Alegre
Café del Lago
“We never feel great difficulties, only hard work”
How did you meet and what led you to work together?
Sandro: Alice is from Paraguay and we met there more than 40 years ago. I had a spa on a beach in Italy and she worked as an engineer in her country. After two or three years of dating, which saw us coming and going, she left her career and came to work with me at the spa. Later, when we had our two daughters, we decided to sell it and come to Formentera, where we opened Café del Lago 22 years ago.
What do you each individually contribute to the relationship and the business?
S: We are quite different. She pays much more attention to the expenses, she is in charge of suppliers, accounting, purchasing… and I am in charge of maintenance, opening and closing, and staff. We try to divide the tasks.
Why do you think it is better to work together rather than separately?
S: If it weren’t for her, it would be impossible for me to keep up this pace with the same success. Our eldest daughter also helped us for a few years, and now our youngest is too.
What major challenges have you had to overcome?
S: When we arrived on the island we were two strangers: an Italian and a Paraguayan. We started in an improvised way, but we always had the full support of the people of the island. We never felt great difficulties, there was just hard work.
Any advice you can give us about work-life balance?
S: There is one piece of advice I always give to my daughters: you have to work hard every day. Respect and accept things about the other person and always try to maintain the passion. And in high season, try not to always talk about work at home.