Merchants Coffee Company
Merchants Coffee Company
San Antonio, Texas coffee firm founded by W. E. Hayman. Merged in February 1912 with William Robert Hoffmann’s coffee business to form the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company. The merger announcement appears in the 4 February 1912 San Antonio Express; the formal charter is the 5/6 February 1912 filing reported in Local Firm Gets Charter.
After the merger, Hayman served as president of the consolidated firm until January 1920, when he sold his interest to the Mengers and exited to start the Tucker Coffee Company.
November 1911 — confirmed active in SA Jobbers directory
The San Antonio Express “Buy in San Antonio” Jobbers and Manufacturers League cooperative page of 19 November 1911 lists Merchants Coffee Company alongside Morrison Coffee Company and many other SA firms — just eight weeks before W. R. Hoffmann’s death on 10 January 1912 that triggered the merger. This is the earliest direct print attestation of Merchants Coffee as an independent going concern in the SA trade press. W. E. Hayman’s firm appears to have had its own identity and trade standing prior to the merger.
A separate entry “Hoffmann” also appears in the same directory, suggesting Hoffmann’s business was also independently listed (not yet merged). Source: 1911-11-19-san-antonio-express-san-antonio-tex-1911-sun-nov-19-page-10.
Open questions
- Founding year of Merchants Coffee (before 1912)
- Hayman’s pre-Merchants career (the 1905 Express notice of “H. E. Hayman” arriving in San Antonio may relate)
- Surviving Merchants Coffee artifacts — any tins, ads, or letterheads from the pre-merger period?