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After brief closure, iconic Harvard Square coffee house back in business

The reports of its demise were greatly exaggerated. We’re talking about the Algiers Coffee House in Harvard Square. The beloved cafe/restaurant on Brattle Street isn’t closing after all. A few weeks after a Facebook post abruptly announced that it would cease operations posthaste, there’s word that Algiers Coffee House is back in business, albeit under new management. According to the folks at the Harvard Square Business Association, Sami Herbawi, the longtime owner of Andala Coffee House in Central Square, has taken over for the ailing Emil Durzi. But the menu, which includes an array of delicious coffees and teas and savory lentil soup, is unchanged. “When you have something that’s been around for 45 years and has such a following and is so iconic, it was a real loss,” said Denise Jillson of the HSBA. “This is like the phoenix rising from the ashes. It’s a great thing.”