Algerian Coffee Stores

Algerian Coffee Stores is a historic coffee shop and specialist coffee-and-tea retailer on Old Compton Street in Soho, London. The business was established in 1887 by M. Siari, an Algerian founder, at number 52 Old Compton Street. Its long operating history places it among the oldest surviving coffee shops and retail businesses in London, and it remains one of the best-known historic establishments on the street. The shop is associated primarily with the sale of coffee beans and tea, serving both customers looking for products to prepare at home and visitors seeking the experience of a traditional specialist coffee store. Its identity is rooted in continuity, location, and product specialization rather than in a large retail network or a diversified corporate group. The Old Compton Street setting is central to the brand: the shop is located in Soho, a densely historic and culturally prominent part of central London, beside the Admiral Duncan pub, which has traded since at least 1832. This places Algerian Coffee Stores within a longstanding local commercial and social environment. Publicly available reference material identifies the business as continuing to operate from its historic premises and as being regarded as a leading supplier of tea and coffee. Detailed information about its ownership structure, management, financial performance, sourcing arrangements, product ranges, and expansion plans is not established in the supplied sources. The brand is therefore best understood as an independent or locally rooted heritage retailer whose value comes from longevity, specialist knowledge, and its connection with Soho. Its name refers to its Algerian origin story through its founder, while its present-day market identity is that of a London coffee institution offering coffee and tea to customers in the United Kingdom.

Algerian Coffee Stores was established in 1887 at 52 Old Compton Street in Soho, London. The shop was founded by M. Siari, identified in historical reference material as an Algerian. From its beginning, the business focused on coffee and tea, giving it a specialist identity distinct from a general grocery retailer or a modern chain coffeehouse. Its location on Old Compton Street has remained fundamental to the brand's history and public recognition. The business developed a reputation as one of London's oldest coffee shops and as a long-standing supplier of coffee and tea. Its continued presence is notable because Old Compton Street has undergone substantial social and commercial change over the course of more than a century. Algerian Coffee Stores is also situated beside the Admiral Duncan pub, an establishment trading since at least 1832, linking the shop to an older layer of Soho's commercial history. Available reference material presents the store as still operating from its historic location and as being regarded among the world's leading suppliers of tea and coffee. However, the supplied sources do not document a detailed chronology of ownership changes, management appointments, branch openings, financial results, product launches, or corporate transactions. There is also no supported evidence of a parent company, public listing, or international branch network. The brand's historical significance instead rests on its unusual longevity, specialist product focus, and association with Soho. In its current identity, Algerian Coffee Stores is best characterized as a heritage coffee retailer and shop. Its appeal combines practical retail offerings—particularly coffee beans and tea—with the historical character of a shop that has occupied the same central London address since the late nineteenth century. The available evidence supports describing it as an active United Kingdom business, but does not support more specific claims about present ownership, operational scale, sourcing practices, or financial performance.

1. 1887Algerian Coffee Stores is established

   M. Siari founded the coffee shop at 52 Old Compton Street in Soho, London.

   Source

A traditional, heritage-focused London coffee shop and specialist retailer centered on coffee beans, tea, and continuity at its historic Soho location.

• Coffee beansCoffee

  Coffee beans are the store's principal specialist offering and the product most closely associated with its identity as a historic coffee retailer. The available sources do not specify individual origins, roast profiles, blends, formats, or current catalog breadth. They do establish that the shop has long been known for supplying coffee, including beans intended for customers purchasing coffee for home preparation.

• TeaTea

  Tea is the other core category associated with Algerian Coffee Stores. The business is described as a supplier of both tea and coffee, positioning it as a specialist beverage retailer rather than a coffee-only venue. The supplied reference material does not identify particular estates, varieties, blends, packaging formats, or launch dates for the tea range.

1. Algerian Coffee Stores
2. Algerian Coffee Stores official website