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Ames British Foods & Gifts
The Ames British Foods & Gifts storefront on Main Street at dusk, its windows lit with neon and string lights

Now on Main Street328 Main St · Downtown Ames

Proper tea and the pot to brew it in. Back bacon, bangers, black and white pudding. Hobnobs for dunking, HP for the bacon sandwich, and a shop full of gifts behind the big front windows.

Shop online Plan your visit
  • Tue–Sat 10–6
  • Sun 12–5
  • Mon closed
TeaBiscuitsBack baconBlack & white puddingSimpkin's sweetsChocolateTeapotsMugs & glasswareScarves & flagsIowa giftsPuzzles & kites

Fresh off the shelf

The tastes of home, four thousand miles from it.

For the expat who misses a proper cuppa, the Anglophile who just got back from London, and anyone curious what a Jammie Dodger is. A few favourites from the shelves:

A bottle of HP SauceHP SauceThe brown sauce. A bacon butty isn't one without it. A pack of McVitie's HobnobsMcVitie's HobnobsOaty, crunchy, built for dunking. A pack of Jammie Dodgers biscuitsJammie DodgersThe jam-and-shortbread classic of every British childhood. A jar of Branston PickleBranston PickleCheese and pickle, the way it should be. A bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolateCadbury Dairy MilkThe bar Brits grew up on. A wooden cribbage board shaped like the state of IowaIowa cribbage boardA pub game, in the shape of home. A greeting card with a Highland cow illustrationGreeting cardsHighland cows, and a card for every occasion. See the whole shopTea, grocery, sweets, gifts, drinkware, soccer and more

Wander the aisles

Something for everyone.

Inside the shop: shelves of loose-leaf tea, teapots, mugs and glassware
Aisle 01

Tea, properly.

Everyday bag tea, AHMAD, loose leaf, teapots and every bit of kit, plus a Tea of the Month Club for the devoted.

Aisle 02

The full English, sorted.

Back bacon rashers, sausages, black and white pudding in the freezer, and a large array of tins and jars on the shelf.

Aisle 03

Sweets & chocolate

Chocolate bars, soft sweets and Simpkin's travel tins.

Aisle 04

Gifts with a story

Candles, cards, keychains, pop culture, puzzles, kites and Iowa gifts.

Aisle 05

Drinkware

Mugs, glassware and Mucky Duck pub pieces.

Aisle 06

For match day

Club scarves, flags and street signs.

Ames British Foods illustration: a Union Jack over the London skyline, Big Ben and a black cab

Our story

A family trade, a new chapter.

British shopkeeping runs in the family. Marcus's father, James Johnson, ran a British home-brew and wine import business with as many as five shops, one of them in Worthing, England.

Now the family trade lives on Main Street in Ames, in a store with huge front windows and an eclectic mix of import groceries and gifts.

“I like to think he would be proud of me now!”

Marcus, owner

Holidays on Main Street

Make this Christmas a little more British.

Downtown Ames is lighting up for the season. Come stroll Main Street, warm up with something British, and find a present no one else will think of.

Nov 5–8Holiday Warm-UpDowntown Ames kicks off the shopping season.
Nov 27–30Small Business WeekendFree downtown parking Thursday through Sunday.
Nov 28Small Business SaturdayShop local, shop small, shop British.

Not sure what they'd like?

A gift card lets them choose: tea, treats or a teapot.

Buy a gift card

Here for the escape room? You're in the right place. Ames British Foods is the check-in for No Escape Iowa, Ames' first and only escape room. Arrive a few minutes early and browse while you wait.

Come say hello

Pop in for a proper browse.

328 Main St, Suite 100
Ames, Iowa 50010
Get directions (515) 337-8770

info@amesbritishfoods.com · Facebook

Shop hours

  • Sunday12 – 5 PM
  • MondayClosed
  • Tuesday10 AM – 6 PM
  • Wednesday10 AM – 6 PM
  • Thursday10 AM – 6 PM
  • Friday10 AM – 6 PM
  • Saturday10 AM – 6 PM

Can't make it in? Shop online.

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