Soho’s legendary Italian deli i Camisa & Son will close after Christmas

Soho’s legendary Italian deli i Camisa & Son will close at the end of the year unless a buyer is found.

Camisa first opened on Berwick Street in 1929 and has been trading on Old Compton Street since the ‘50s.

Launched by two Camisa brothers, the family sold the shop to the Italian importer Alivini in 2014.

Gianni Segatta, one of the directors at Alivini, told CODE that the business has been losing money for years and continuing to operate would be ‘impossible’.

He said: ‘We cannot run the business now. It’s very sad. It’s a historical brand and we love it, but everything is so difficult.

‘We don’t want to close it down, but in the end it’s pointless to carry on because we’re losing too much.’

Segatta said the owners of the freehold, Shaftesbury PLC, offered considerable support during the pandemic, but normal rent must now resume. Shaftesbury has been approached for comment.

‘Energy prices, rates, VAT, and salaries are all too high now and we cannot raise prices because people would not come’, Segatta told CODE.

‘Soho has changed too much. Things were good before the pandemic but now it is not what it used to be. The families who used to live here have gone.

‘We used to have queues to get in but not any more.’

Segatta confirmed Camisa will close after 25 December ‘unless somebody steps in to buy it’.

He added: ‘We have explained the situation – turnover is too low. We looked into selling the brand but we must also focus on other things.’

Camisa is nothing short of an institution and has been a favourite among chefs – St. John’s Fergus Henderson among them – Soho residents, and tourists for decades.

The retailer’s lunch time sandwiches, still just £5, are legendary, while its choice of pastas, olives, tinned fish and other Italian delicacies is arguably unparalleled, at least in the centre of London.

CODE hopes a buyer steps in to save Camisa.

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