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| George ‘The Coffeeman’
will fill you full of beans |
Buy your coffee from George Constaninou and
you’ll never tire of the daily grind writes Charlotte Chambers
WHEN he was at college the only people that drank coffee were
“the foreigners”. Now we are a nation of coffee drinkers,
and George Constantinou is not complaining.
He took over the Camden Coffee Shop in Delancey Street from his
uncle Michael in May 1978. He bought the goodwill of the business
and the contents of the shop – which included an 85-year old
coffee-roaster and sacks of exotic-sounding coffee –for £500.
When Brazil suffered one of its worst coffee crops in history in
1975, and his uncle made his fortune by buying up cheap coffee and
selling it back to the coffee brokers at a profit, Mr Constantinou
was determined to be a self-made man too.
Originally from Cyprus, George (pictured) came to London in 1968
and trained as an engineer at Willesden College. But after working
at Henley’s garage for two years, he decided he wanted to be
his own boss. He said: “I was fed up. Whatever happened, there
was always someone above my head. I wanted the freedom of working
for myself.”
He has worked at the shop for 27 years, and has always clocked in
a six-day week. His is a well-loved face. He said: “If I walk
into somewhere like Woolworths, kids all say to their Mum’s
‘Look it’s ‘the coffeeman’!”
But George’s shop has also been recognised in the broadsheets
and international magazines for its unique and last-of-its-kind
charm. George reflects: “You won’t see anything else like
this now.”
His small and dusty shop could be a Back to the Future film-set.
Just as the coffee-roaster is 85, it feels like nothing has changed
for probably just as many years. The old-fashioned way he has of
working is part of his commitment to preserving the past. Of the
antique roasting machine he said: “I might buy a new one one
day but I like the history.”
The machine works by roasting beans from its core, which is lit.
The beans are slowly spun like in a washing machine, shedding their
yellowish husk as they turn brown. To keep their freshness, they
are not ground unless a customer requests them to be.
Delancey Street is now a conservation area, but it wasn’t always
that way. First the Bedford Theatre that used to sit just behind
his shop was knocked down in 1969, and then in 1988 his landlord
threatened to raze the whole block.
But George was so popular that residents, councillors, and the New
Journal, campaigned to keep him. The landlord lost his battle, and
George is still here today. In 1975 the council had a change of
heart and made the area a conservation zone.
The shop has an uncertain future though. Although George has no
plans to retire, there is no Constantinou to step into the breach
when that day comes. George’s oldest son, Fanos, 28, works
for Ralph Lauren, while Nicholas, 25, is in Cyprus working as an
electronic engineer. His daughter Christina, 20, is studying Law
at the London School of Economics. But for George, the shop has
given him a great career.
He said: “I’m my own boss, I meet a lot of people. It’s
not boring – people talk to me about everything, I’ve
made a lot of friends.”
Asking what the secret is to his happy nature he said: “I take
the good and the bad things that God gives. I accept everything.
I feel sad sometimes but generally I’m always smiling.”
Now that he limits his coffee intake, doesn’t drink or smoke,
his only vice is – he talks too much. George revealed that
his wife tells him off. He said: “She complains ‘can’t
you stop talking!’ But she’s right though, it’s a
bad habit. Sometimes the customer wants to go – they’re
outside the door and I’m still talking to them!”
• The Camden Coffee Shop, 11 Delancey Street, NW1. Call
020 7387 4080. |
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