Customers heartbroken as Italian deli CLOSES after 63 years

An iconic Italian deli in the heart of London‘s Soho has closed after more than 60 years of trading after claiming WFH snowflakes killed their business.

I Camisa & Son has delighted Londoners by dishing out authentic Italian sandwiches and selling provisions like pasta and coffee on Old Compton Street since 1961.

But bosses announced this week that with a ‘heavy heart’ they have been forced to cease business.

In a statement, the deli said:  ‘Due to the significant reduction in office workers following the pandemic, the economics of running this store at this location are no longer viable’.

The most recent Office for National Statistics data suggests 44 per cent of Brits work from home at least some of the time, compared to around 12 per cent before the pandemic.

John Bryer, 79, has been visiting I Camisa for three decades for it’s authentic and rare ingredients and said: ‘It is a shame as there are very few places that sell this kind of produce.

‘Before Covid you would come here at lunchtime and there would be a queue outside the door of people buying salami sandwiches. Now when I come I never see a queue.’

The deli closed for good on Saturday, with a sign in the window this week reading: ‘It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of I Camisa & Son on Old Compton Street. 

‘Due to the significant reduction in office workers following the pandemic, the economics of running this store at this location are no longer viable.’

An employee who has worked in the shop for 25 years told MailOnline ‘the economics don’t add up’.

She said the lack of workers coming into the shop was part of the problem, adding: ‘They are not going to get a train just to come into I Camisa.

‘We would be busy at lunchtime and then we would have a second rush at 6pm as everyone is finishing for the day and they need to pick up something for dinner.

‘We sat down and looked at the numbers but it just isn’t possible anymore.’

Another of the store’s loyal customers is Gianluca Sclano, 54, who has been bringing himself and colleagues to the store for lunch since he moved to London from Italy in 2014.

The software designer praised the quality of the ingredients and the ‘very affordable’ prices.

‘This was an important place, especially for Italians’, he said.

‘It was an institution for Italians. It is hard to find an Italian shop that has Italians inside nowadays.

‘The business in London seems to be getting killed all over. It never used to be like that when I first moved here.’

I Camisa offers traditional sandwiches from £7 to £9, as well as tea and coffee at prices which will beat most chains.

But on top of these offerings for passers by, it also sells authentic groceries including parmesan and pecorino by the kilogram. 

Married couple Barry and Chris Keen have been coming to the shop for 50 years. They said they keep coming back due to its quality, huge selection and affordability.

The retirees said they went on holiday to Italy when they were younger and loved the ‘generosity of spirit’ and food.

Chris said: ‘It is very sad. There are other Italian delis but they are not as good. They used to make the sandwiches and there would always be a queue outside the shop. It used to wrap around the corner and we would come here often.’

When asked if they would support businesses cutting back on working from home and encouraging people to come into the office, they said ‘absolutely’.

‘Working from home is a disaster for people and the company,’ Barry added. ‘It is killing off the town centre.’

‘Fratelli Camisa Provisions’ was opened in Soho in 1929 by brothers Ennio and Isidoro Camisa, meaning it was likely the city’s first authentic Italian food shop.

However, during the Second World War the brothers were among thousands of Italians detained by the British government, forcing their original deli at 66 Old Compton Street to close down.

The duo returned to Soho in 1948 and ran their new shop on Berwick Street.

When they parted ways in 1961, Isidoro moved the deli back to Old Compton Street, this time at number 61, where it has been serving Londoners ever since.

Still named I Camisa & Son, the family sold the deli to Italian food company Alivini in 2014.

Lucy Haine, a florist who has worked in Soho for 24 years and is the current chair of the Soho Neighbourhood Forum group which promotes the area said: ‘I think it is very sad because it is part of the original Italian families who came to London in the 1960s.

‘Unfortunately there just isn’t the amount of people coming into Soho there used to be. I think WFH has got a lot to do with it, but there has to be a balance.

‘What we don’t want is another bar or restaurant to open on the site. We don’t want there to be a mono-culture, we want there to be local amenities for local people to use.

‘There is also a wider problem for Soho as the rents and business rates are very high.’

Ms Haine’s colleague Nikitah Patel also believes WFH should be done in balance.

She said: ‘I don’t live in central London, I live in Kent, so I save one hour commuting each way, as well as the expense, when I work from home for the day.’

Ms Patel said she currently works two days a week from home, adding: ‘There needs to be a balance. Maybe we don’t appreciate amenities we rely on when we are at work might not be there if we are not there to support them.’

The deli seems to have no noticeable marketing presence, and most of the customers MailOnline spoke to were long-term customers or had heard about it from word of mouth. Tyler Luke, 28, heard about I Camisa from his friend’s mother Deborah.

He said: ‘She recommended it to me after raving about it. It’s a shame, I hope they get relocated.’

Labour’s Westminster councillor Patrick Lilley represents the West End ward which includes Soho and helped I Camisa broker a deal with their landlord when the business was facing closure in 2022.

He disputed the assertion that WFH was solely to blame for the deli closing, insisting: ‘The other side of the coin is that residents working from home can now support local food outlets.’

Saturday put at least a temporary end to the Camisa name serving Italian food to the people of London for the best part of 95 years.

However, I Camisa has said it is exploring the possibility of relocating the business to a new location.