W. Martyn

KerryAnn

30th May 2007

3 found this helpful

I used to walk past this shop all the time as a child in the 1970's and am so pleased to see it still survives. The shop is full of character and it's like stepping back in time. Customer service and quality of items are excellent.

StillOpen

Coffee since 1897 9th November 2006

5 found this helpful

The intoxicating aroma of freshly roasted coffee greets you as you enter through the doorway of this popular coffee and teashop. Founded by the present owners great grandfather in 1897, who left his family farm in Devon in 1863 to set up a shop in London. It was above this shop that he lived with his staff and family.

W.Martyn started out as a general grocery store, selling basic household goods. Two other stores were opened in Golders Green and Finchley, run by his two sons until they both retired in the mid 50's and the shops then closed.

It was in the 1930's when coffee and tea brands became more accessible and it was at this time that W. Martyn decided to become ‘tea and coffee specialists and retailers of fine foods'.
The present owner remembers not being allowed in the shop when he was a small boy, however he enjoys letting his four-year-old son come to the shop in the hope that he will one day continue the family business. The shop is kept in its traditional ways, the owner insists, “the staff must count the change back into the customers hands as this has always been customer policy”. The décor has also been left, as it traditionally was when it opened. A typical wooden shop counter stretches the length of the shop, and goods are piled high on hand made shelves. The staff serve customers from behind the counter, reaching high on ladders to collect goods from top shelves or digging deep into the storage containers that date back to the day the shop opened. An old balance set of scales sit on the counter and is still being used today to weigh out nuts, dried fruit and pounds of sugar. Notice the scales have mirrors attached; this was an early day security device! There is also a separate counter with a small opening, where the bills and goods are paid for. The coffee roaster in the front window, roasts a host of different coffees throughout the day filling the shop with a fantastic smell that makes one want to just stay and shop, buying all the things that you just can not get at a supermarket, a delightful place!