The Oldest Cappuccino Machine in the United States is located in Greenwich Village, NYC

Caffe Reggio has been open for 95 years 

The mechanical whirring sounds of espresso machines and the soft thrum of indistinct conversations surge toward you as you walk into Caffe Reggio. The inside of the coffee shop, with its classic Italian furnishings and its patterned tin ceilings, is laced with the smell of coffee and Italian pastries. Deep inside the space, past the first room of tables and beyond the arch, is a shining, nickel-plated espresso machine. Standing close to five feet tall, with nine spigots sprouting from its detailed exterior, it is the oldest espresso machine in the United States.

Caffe Reggio was founded in 1927 by Domenico Parisi, an Italian immigrant from the southern region of Reggio Calabria. Located at 119 MacDougal Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, the space used to be a barbershop. According to a 1954 Herald-Tribune article, Parisi was a barber for 40 years until his eyesight worsened and he could no longer hold a razor with confidence. That’s when he set his eyes on coffee. He reportedly pooled together his life savings of $1,000 to purchase the machine that would make his coffee shop known throughout New York City. 

Parisi imported the espresso-making beast from Turin, a northern Italian city. Built around 1903, it is a lavish piece of machinery; an angel with an arm stretched toward the sky stands atop it, and two figures riding horses flank its base. Although it took him three months to learn how to operate the machine, it was his pride and joy – he did not let anyone touch it, preferring to close shop when falling ill instead of letting someone run it in his absence. A 1955 New Yorker Magazine article claimed that he never removed his hat while making a cup of coffee from it.

The arrival of Parisi’s espresso machine heralded a change in the way Americans consumed their coffee. While the drink was already popular, the machine’s ability to make a steaming cup of espresso, a black coffee stronger than what most Americans were used to at the time, or a cappuccino, a blend of coffee, hot milk, and cinnamon, in just about three seconds, was a marvel. 

“It’s an icon. It’s something to be proud of, they didn’t make any other machines like that,” says Fabrizio Cavallacci, Caffe Reggio’s owner. “It’s the first thing customers go to look at when they come in.”

Cavallacci’s parents, Niso and Hilda Cavallacci, purchased Caffe Reggio from Parisi in 1955. Cavallacci grew up in Caffe Reggio, officially taking it over at the age of 15 when his mother suddenly passed away. In 1978, he removed the espresso machine from its original place on the shop’s counter and put it on display to protect its integrity. However, if needed, the 100-year-old espresso machine could still kick out a cup of coffee. The machine occupies a position of honor in Caffe Reggio – its gargantuan presence made coffee shops fashionable in New York City, a legacy that has made Caffe Reggio an internationally recognized haven for Italian coffee lovers.