A COUPLE who hit hard times in Greece due to the economic crisis have opened up a new cafe after falling in love with Bolton.

Sabine Leugger and her husband Stergos Mastrogiannakis, both aged 55, have just opened up A Taste Of Greece in Churchgate, after moving from Rhodes.

The pair studied in London 35 years ago but moved to Greece to run a ceramic factory. But after the Eurozone crisis and the issues with the Greek economy, the pair decided to pursue their dream of moving back to England.

Mrs Leugger, who was brought up near Zurich, said: “We were thinking of going to Switzerland at first but we thought England was much better for us.

“We had friends in Manchester so we had a bit of a look around. We came to Bolton and looked around and we just fell in love with the town.

“I am originally from Switzerland but I met my husband in London when were were studying and I moved back to Rhodes with him.

“We ran a ceramic factory but as the Greek economy suffered it started to become a problem.

“So we first wanted to go to Switzerland but we like England better. We always wanted to come back one day.”

After learning about the food trade with their friends in Manchester, the couple began looking for a place to set up

She said: “My husband suggested Bolton because he knew a Greek footballer who was playing here.

“We came to Bolton, we had a look around, we loved the town. We thought it was really beautiful.

“We found this place and that’s it.”

The couple now run the cafe from 8am until 10pm and live above the premises.

She said: “We just wanted to bring a bit of the Greek culture here. We thought we could bring a little piece of Greece here for people to enjoy.

“We were thinking a long time about the name and it was linked to this idea of bringing that taste here.

“The nice thing is that we have people coming in and coming again or sending friends.

“We have had so much support. It has been absolutely fantastic.”