Café Algiers Is Open Under New Management
Café Algiers. / Photo provided by the Harvard Square Business Association
Our tears have barely dried after hearing that Café Algiers—a.k.a. Algiers Coffee House—shuttered unceremoniously last month, but the story has taken a pleasant turn. Algiers reopened over the weekend, Boston Restaurant Talk reported.
Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, confirmed the coffee house is under new management. Sami Herbawi, owner of Andala Coffee House in Central Square, and manager Leo Diodato have taken over operations at Algiers.
“I walked over there, and there were balloons outside, which was a very promising sign. The door was open,” Jillson says.
Calls to Algiers continue to go unanswered, but the new owners are working on reestablishing the phone connection, she says. The takeover happened quickly, after the 45-year owner, Emile Durzi, stepped aside for health reasons.
The Andala owners plan to keep Algiers’s basic menu while adding new items, like smoothies and meat pies, and they have lowered prices on things like the chicken kebab plate. Check out the new menu below.
“All of the equipment, all the furnishings [were there], it was really a turnkey opportunity for them, and it has everything to do with Emile,” Jillson says. “We’re thrilled the new owners and managers are familiar with Harvard Square and have a reputation here in Cambridge.”
Andala Coffee House, located in an 18th century house on the corner of River and Franklin streets, is a cozy café that specializes in Arabic coffee and Middle Eastern fare, like a Jerusalem omelet, shakshuka, pressed sandwiches, muffins, and more. The Central Square coffee house also offers hookahs and flavored tobacco to smoke on its outdoor patio.
Café Algiers is open daily from 8 a.m. until midnight.
Cafe Algiers, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, 617-492-1557, harvardsquare.com.
