WOrth 6-5758. A&A Coffee Shop/Porto Rico Importing Company

I happened to spot A&A Coffee (a.k.a. the Porto Rico Importing Company) on Thompson Street, and not only do I love their sign with its old school phone number (I said so to the cashier) but I also think the coffee was first-rate. I do not know how long this exact location has been a coffee shop but I could see how it would have been in business a long time, surviving against a Starbucks on every corner and other corporate manifestations of the timeless beverage. The place reminded me of the old Siberia Bar, which used to be inside a midtown subway station. According to the Telephone Exchange Name Project, the WO in A&A's old phone number probably stood for WOrth, but in these modern times the WO.6-5758 phone exchange number would be 212-966-5758.