When Bennie Gray snapped up a shuttered Art Deco department store called Jordan's it still had its "marvellous, archaic" accounting system.
Customers buying their clothes and accessories would hand over notes which were put into a container and "whooshed" through pressured brass tubes to a central cashier who sent it back with their change.
"It was like something out of Jules Verne," says Bennie, who grew up around the corner from the Egyptian-style building in Church Street in Marylebone.
"The Jordan brothers opened their store 100 years ago and for a long time they did well selling knicker elastic and darning wool.
"But by the 60s people were less enthusiastic about darning socks and were keen on cheap clothing imported from the Far East, and as the brothers were in their 90s they closed it down."
Church Street had also gone downhill since Jordan's first opened, and Bennie - a local boy who had won a scholarship to UCS private school in Hampstead - bought it for "not very much".
His whole family - including dad Alfie - were in the antiques trade. In fact Alfie had once run a stall in Church Street, so Bennie turned Jordan's into an antiques market and hired the Pearly King and Queen for the opening in July 1976.
That was 50 years ago, and Alfie's Antiques is now a treasure trove of fashion, jewellery photographs, furniture and ceramics - and it lists famous fans that range from Kate Moss to the Beckhams to Billie Eilish and Lily Allen.
"It's still vivid to me because it was the long hot summer of 1976 and it was the start of something interesting," says Bennie, who lives in Hampstead.
"Church Street had gone downhill, there was vandalism and a few boarded up shops so it was a bit of a gamble.
"But I thought it would be a nice space for antiques dealers who were unpretentious and didn't have cut glass accents.
"We originally opened one day a week on the ground floor and within a month it was bursting over every floor five days a week.
"One thing I am proud of is the community aspect - there are still people trading at Alfie's who were there when it opened.
"And there are people whose parents were there and now they've inherited it - it's a marvellous community of independent entrepreneurs."
Church Street has also gentrified as Alfie's drew customers from the posher parts of the capital. That included on one occasion the rocker Rod Stewart.
"We had an outrageous gay stallholder who followed him around singing 'Do You Think I'm Sexy' and he never came back!" says Bennie.
He adds: "We are guilty of helping to gentrify the area, we didn't mean to be. One or two people went on to open shops and now it's one of the best antique streets in London which has made it more desirable.
"But I am worried that local residents will be driven out. The whole character of it was as a mixed community - now it's a bit too posh in my opinion."
Bennie has expanded the market but it retains its boho vibe with around 80 dealers, a fortune teller and a cafe terrace on the roof.
It's in demand for fashion and film shoots - with one project starring Emma Thompson pegged to shoot in the coming months - and from interior designers looking to decorate the homes or wealthy clients.
Over the years, Bennie has seen tastes evolve. The appetite for heavy Victorian furniture has waxed and waned, the trend for vintage vinyl and mid-century items has grown.
"People like it, we like it - and I am proud of the way it played a part in the regeneration of Church Street," he says as he gets ready for the birthday celebration on July 9.
Asked if he plans to sell up or step down he says: "Blimey! No. Alfie's is much more than a business to me we have had a lot more fun with it than if we had just pursued a bean counter approach."
Alfie's Antiques Market is at 13-25 Church Street Marylebone, NW8. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 6pm.
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