London Walking Tour | Jermyn Street With Eddie Sahakian

[Music] hi i'm kirby allison and i'm here on the streets of london at the corner of german street and st james street and with my good friend eddie sahakian of course on this corner on many nice afternoons you'll find either eddie or his father edward out here enjoying a nice cigar and uh as i was this afternoon so thank you for a little bit of time kirby what a fortuitous meeting here outside the shop always a delight well you know we were talking a little bit about how you know davidoff of london and of course that's the hockey against you and your father have been literally a cornerstone of this piece of london for over 40 years now right here in the corner for 40 years german street and st james's street a place that has seen so much history and of course you two have witnessed much of that over the years and so we were talking a little bit about how things have changed and just some of your family's stories and so i thought it would be fun if you would entertain us a little bit on camera like you and your father so generously do so often share some of these stories with us oh with great pleasure kirby um this this corner of saint james's is a is a really sentimental and meaningful spot for us of course the shop itself is here but really the idea for the shop and the first seeds of my father opening a cigar shop called davidoff in london were sewn a little bit further down german street actually at that time a little bit further down i believe it was berry street okay today the location of wilton's is is german street of course that's where it all started my father was sitting outside what is now franco's okay having a coffee what was it then it was called macaris okay and it was half the frontage of the current franco's and next door was the original franco's restaurant and my father was having his coffee and cigar admiring what he believed to be the next or the first location for the davidoff emporium which was actually next door to the current shop and we'll come to that as we as we perhaps take a little stroll along yeah that would be great and and he noticed some people fiddling with the front door here because this was a boarded up premises uh in back in 1979 and it was the algerian tourist board and no one had any idea how to get in touch with them yeah so of course my father being there and seeing these people was the opportunity to go and introduce himself and one thing led to another and and kirby behind you is beretta on the other corner of german students in jameson street now believe it or not at that time that was nat west which is the national westminster bank okay and that's our first commercial banking relationship that we established as a business just right there at that branch to this day that branch and my father took uh a loan at the time within a couple of years of starting the shop which allowed him to finance a long-term investment in the lease and of course that's another very sentimental building externally hasn't changed it's just the occupant that has i wish they would still lend us money guns aren't bad either you and your father really are such great friends with so many of the other uh you know business owners and shopkeepers on the street uh and so you know you you have your finger on the pulse of everything that's going on oh that's that's really kind uh it's it's a mutual self-respect this little corner and this little part of london we've known a lot of the businesses for as long as we've been here as long as they've been here um in some cases it's very symbiotic we have cafe morano here on st james's street and franco's outside who always look after us and our customers as beautifully as we would like and then of course sympathetic businesses that help us dress ourselves yes that's right as a gentleman you can't find many better streets in the world looking after your needs the most important one being here on this corner which is your tobacconist well let's uh shall we let's go [Music] absolutely beautiful shop thank you i love it i mean was this motif you know the fine cigars the huge gilt davidoff logo is that original it is uh yes it's uh it's been sort of refreshed a couple of times it's 24 karat gold leaf all hand inlaid of course and you may have noticed on the surgenza street side when the sun shines you get this remarkable reflection shines on the floor looks like we're doing it on purpose yes that's amazing it really does it illuminates i think you know the sidewalk yes it's like a spotlight for the uh the culture like the batman singing the bad signal come get your cigars before the day ends yeah well can we you've come to an important spot here because between these two institutions emma willis on the right one of our favorite shirt makers uh wonderful wonderful uh purveyor of british quality and of course the current francos which is a continuation of the old franchise macaris means so much to us this was the original location my father had seen and begun negotiations on to establish the lease it's a smaller unit but at the time he thought this could work yeah and of course macaris was where he was sitting when he saw the and of course at that time you could still i mean you could certainly smoke indoors yeah oh yes there was no problem with that because this has turned into quite the destination for the cigar aficionado as they sit there in the morning enjoying their morning espresso and maybe some breakfast waiting for the shop to open yes with these beautiful windows they can see straight in and then you know whenever the shop is is open to the public and it's not just our customers truthfully it's a it's a canteen for the saharakians and our staff as well we all you guys are here many mornings not to expose the secret you know you know so this means the world to us as well and uh next door to franco's it's now covered in scaffolding at the uh there was a shop which is the very very original reason my father knew german street it was called vinci and uh french my father's it was italian italian vinci that's what i mean yeah italian and a dear friend of my father's and when he used to visit london from iran in the in the 70s in the early 70s of course he would come here to see his friend that's why he knew german street at all okay and that's the beginnings perhaps of the of the it's all weaving together yeah and you guys have a really good relationship with jason the manager of franco's and wilton's and this is often a place that uh you know we had lunch here a few days ago yes after we film um you know our little our visits together oftentimes it's quite late and you've sent us over here a few times for a very lovely dinner i'm so happy you've enjoyed it we love it it's a really good kitchen they look after us impeccably uh and they will always bend over backwards anything they can help them and we feel the same towards them if there's ever anything we can help with we're there for them you know that the sister restaurant of wilton's which uh of course a little further along german street is a very important part of the story as well okay i know we've touched on it when my father talked about his very remarkable meeting with william hurd his original lawyer ah that's right the thank you lunch yes kicked everything off the solicitor we all wish we had in our life we really took the initiative to help kind of tie this thing all together can i invite you along a little bit further i'll show you a few more of our favorite spots [Music] so if i may uh kirby i'd like to point you to my cobbler yeah of course doing some exceptional work another you know british heritage brand absolutely still family owned and controlled oh that's remarkable i i buy the sydney loafer from them is this what you're wearing now it is what i'm wearing and much to my dismay it's the most popular one they make so it's never on sale but dare i say it it's worth every penny i fear we've made i've made a critical mistake that your fatal mistake i make all too often and choosing a cigar is i've chosen too short of a cigar it looks like you may have always i have as well a kirby like like a good date yeah you should always be left wanting more so perhaps we were wise that's right and of course turnbull what an institution and this has been here you know as long as you have oh yes much longer in fact uh dare i say it dates to the 19th century i'm i could be wrong on that but uh it's a true institution it is fine shirts i aspire to them once in a blue moon yeah you of course have much more knowledge on on that side of things well you know one of the things i didn't know until a friend told me is actually i always thought that the entrance to the shop was right here on german street and it is but it's to the haberdashery and that the entrance to the bespoke salon is actually around the corner on berry street uh and so i it's just something i learned just recently well you know more than i do and i've been here 42 years right so we're coming of course to to really some of the point here um as we move along here we're gonna pass wilton's one of my favorite restaurants oh mine too what is your favorite there what will you eat each time you visit well you know the one dish i enjoy the most but have the most difficulty you know coordinating is the lango steams which are seasonal they're flown in you have to call ahead to see if they're even going to be available and if they are you have to reserve them ahead of your booking so that they're saved for you otherwise if you wait until you get there many afternoons for lunch they could be all sold out even if you're the first table well there's no justice in this world but we will try and sort out some longest things for you wonderful and of course as we come to the other corner it's bates and for us it's a wonderful wonderful hat maker my father buys many of his panama hats from them uh i have very recently begun to explore hats as you probably see every gentleman you've got a full head of hair why cover it you know it's it's as it gets shorter and thinner well you have gotten a haircut since uh lockdown actually you're all right you were quite long there for a while yes oh yes i waste it why waste a crisis right now for sure so there we have it shall we continue please [Music] yeah hill ditch and key of course which which cause houses yeah baits and then taylor of old bond street that's it and a very meaningful spot for my father this is where he gets his haircut neil often cuts it for him they're a beautiful long established business all the accessories you'd want we source our badger hair brushes from here that you would normally use for shaving we use it for wiping the cigars oh yes remember that and perhaps let you yeah i think you gave me that time i gave it to you so i've got a badger brush in my office i have reserved exclusively for that purpose well i hope you have several different bristle uh firm firmnesses and hardnesses and things great shaving soaps of course that we sell these on the website so i'm a big fan of wet shaving but you know one of the things that just as we walk through here i really love is you know as a tourist as someone that's not from here you know it's easy to think that you know these are kind of relics that exist just for the tourists the people that are in from out of town but you know someone like you and your father i mean it's really as much a part of your daily routine as one would probably hope it is yes you're right you know it's such a unique element to german street that uh that is a local a gentleman who's in the area and you want to present yourself well you think of it yeah i don't go online for me that doesn't work for for these elements and we're so lucky to have german street under our feet to be able to take this exact walk that we're doing now yeah well just today i mean just in in today's time just like it was maybe 50 75 or 100 years ago i mean there are of course the people that live in this area and maybe the people that don't live close but come here as a destination to get their hair cut to have their suits made to buy their cigars for lunch their shirts and of course german street their shoes and again it's what makes this such a unique place ah thank you um so that's great wonderful well perhaps i can now invite you across the perilous highway that is german street towards piccadilly arcade another incredibly important part of my father and my uh daily routine almost shall we yeah thank you [Music] piccadilly arcade they've got the proper purple for the jubilee absolutely right and of course mr brummel himself facing the arcade the father of the modern dandy yes and of course the two pillars of the arcade yeah new in linguist which uh my father and my tailors we're very lucky to have bought both of you both of us quite a few suits from them this one this one looking very very handsome today like there's a gentleman in there he's probably there today called nick fuegler okay and he is uh the tailor i trust most okay he has the eye that can immediately distinguish the right cut but also he will tell you when it doesn't suit you it's a valuable characteristic of a good tailor as someone who has a great eye and you know can help us you know look better dressed than we would otherwise dress ourselves well some of us are lucky enough to have innate styles i know i know you don't need that yeah and so you know whenever you guys first opened i mean how has the piccadilly arcade change i mean was new and lingwood you know occupying both of the shops on this end that's a very good question i believe it did but i'm not sure if it was on this side um you know new and link would have a prominent presence in eaton yes they are they dress the italians absolutely right and they are a wonderful long established sailor uh the make up of pikachu the arcade itself has changed significantly over the years however they have maintained and preserved the the their of antiquity and uh tradition that's still there whilst allowing more contemporary perhaps or more more recent brands to to make their presence felt yeah well new lingwood i think is an interesting place for someone that's in london to go pop into because you know if you go upstairs they've got a lot of historic photographs of the etonians and you know the type of garments that they've done for them which is very traditional i mean correct me if i'm remembering this incorrectly but don't the eutonians still dress in morning coats yes for school even the little boys absolutely right exactly right and uh as much as i'd like to say the same rules are established in this harkin household that's right yeah right and then of course on this side you have the dressing gown side of which new and lingwood is very famous for the dressing gowns please tell me your father has a proper dressing room he does of course he does i would expect no less from the mr edward sahakian no he's he's got a beautiful in fact he's got more than one and he's very proud of them no i bet i mean i can just picture your father on a you know on a friday night you know dressed in his gown in his lounge he's got a little smoking room at the house he's enjoying a nice cigar maybe a game of backgammon yes exactly right with a little glass of rum that's it and mum not far from him but not similarly raquel [Laughter] well let's see some more things of course please come through so many charming shops well allow me to draw your attention to deacon and france's i know you know them but for me it's such an exquisite cufflink maker one of the variety oh and they've got some really interesting cufflinks we did feature them in our piccadilly arcade walking tour oh wonderful and the gentleman side uh was very nice to show us some of the more interesting links i mean they've got some classical ones they've got some really cheeky ones also i can't believe it well when i'm old enough he might show me those too of course we come along and next door to deacon and francis is a wonderful military shop they have all sorts of regalia and various trophies and statues and medals but most interestingly for the sahayan household they have painted toy soldiers really and exquisite ones my son is a is an avid collector but of course they're rather expensive so only when he does well at school does he earn one and he comes in here and like his mother it takes him a couple of hours to choose one well i think it was actually at that mention you gave me the idea i may pop in here tomorrow and grab one for nathaniel oh you will enjoy that give yourself an hour there's so much to see boy it's an incredible shop with again things that you would only really find here in london and these types of really kind of eccentric shops are to me would really mark the arcades i mean arcades are where these small boutiques are the independent shops small shops that really are purveyors of a really specialty items and uh this is kind of what i would expect to find here in the picadilly arcade so happy you said that kirby these arcades are the kryptonite to the mass consumerization homogenization of of even luxury brands you know you do not get another shop like this anywhere in the world and if you do i want to find it yeah indeed it surely does i mean these are the types of things that if you walk into nick fox's home you know littered everywhere you know the unusual and the difficult to find and it always feels like you've stumbled into someone's private collection yeah who's deigned to open his door and let you peek into the things that make him excited yeah i love that about the shots yeah i've got a few puffs left you've timed me perfectly as you saw i was far too when i burned my fingers well two other of course prominent shops here swain any brig umbrellas and traditional briefcases and then jean rousseau which isn't an english brand it's a french one based in paris but uh wonderful watch straps oh yes you're right they've even done one for my iwatch or apple watch okay they've helped give it an error of sophistication exactly you're a big watch collector do you have any other pieces that have leather bands or primarily i do have a few yes i've got a iwc portuguese and a a jaeger coat master geographic um and another jaeger local master compressor i changed that one great taste oh you're very good what i love about john rousseau of course is they have the quick release mechanism and so i've got my show part perpetual calendar oh and i've got three or four bands you know that i can you know switch between i've got a brown uh snakeskin yes this is actually a very sophisticated band and then i've got a few black ones and i think even a navy one what is your favorite watch is that one you wear in preference to all others you know i've got not a big collector of watches i've got two i've got the uh rolex datejust oh that was a gift from my grandfather well can we can we uh there we go beautiful watching they really i love rolex uh and then i've got the show part perpetual calendar which was a gift from my wife to my 30th birthday it's very sentimental yes wonderful wonderful well i do love this place oh well you know bud very well of course we're working on a series right now with them bespoke shirt making oh how would you rate them as a shirt make they're an exceptional shirt maker and one of the things that really distinguishes bud is that of all of the london-based shirt makers there's the only one that continues to do all their pattern making and the cutting for the bespoke products product on premise that's amazing so how do they fit in there yeah barely that's a tight shop and we have the opportunity to actually visit their factory in andover and i can tell you that their bespoke shirts are amongst the highest quality well one day kirby will you promise me you'll take me there because i don't know how to buy a shirt it would be my great pleasure and of course in their hands they've got some of the most experienced uh cutters in the entire business and you know you don't need me and they are certainly capable of taking care of you it'll be more fun with you certainly and then here we are at the end of the arcade we've got santa maria novella an italian brand but one that really kind of holds a special place uh my heart at least one of their soaps the almond soap is amongst my favorite i mean the aromas coming out of it and of course what i love is there's such a young brand i think it's 12 21. yes that's right they were started by monks based in florence wonderful well try their tobacco so okay i know the size is a little larger than your preferred almond soap but the aroma is exquisite really i should try it well here we are at the end of the piccadilly arcade we've got the burlington arcade just across the street yes and uh just on the other side of the burlington arcade another famous street in london savile row that's right and this kind of journey you know up saint james's of course stopping by david off of london on the corner from german street down german street up the piccadilly arcade across piccadilly into the burlington arcade through it take a right end up on savile row is one of my favorite journeys here in london so thank you for sharing you know your small kind of piece of that kirby my honor and this walk has never been as pleasant as when i've done it with you wow thank you so much eddie it's a great pleasure always lovely to see you well there we have it i mean what a pleasure to be able to spend a little bit of time with eddie sahakian uh just hearing some of his family's stories of this incredible street german street the piccadilly arcade and of course eddie being such a kind friend actually went inside santa maria novella and grabbed me a bar of his favorite soap of the tobacco and i am beginning to understand the genius behind this man and using a tobacco scented body soap and helping to kind of normalize the smell of tobacco around his wife so i'm going to go home and put this to good use if you enjoyed this video make sure you hit that subscribe button and take a moment to visit kirbyallison.com of course where you'll find the largest collection of luxury garment care and luxury shoe care accessories in the world as well as other great clothing accessories like this beautiful sovereign grade tie i'm wearing now pocket squares braces socks and so much more of course this is one of the best and most generous ways that you can support the work that we film on this channel and one of our newest ways to support our work is our patreon for those that really want to see us travel to explore the world of quality craftsmanship and tradition 100 of the proceeds of this patreon will be used to support that endeavor and of course i'm kirby allison here today in london and as all of you know i love to help the well-dressed acquire and care for their wardrobes while exploring the world of quality craftsmanship and tradition thanks for watching [Music] you

Channel: Kirby Allison

Views: 390,723

Keywords: kirby allison, mens fashion, hanger project, lodnon, london, walking tour, walk around, Jermyn Street, savile row, gentleman, gentlemen, mens shops, eddie sahakian, edward sahakian, davidoff of london

Id: YTOCDDh-0oA

Length: 25min 27sec (1527 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 25 2022