Western Coffee Company of San Antonio
Western Coffee Company of San Antonio
A coffee roasting company incorporated in San Antonio, Texas in 1907. Its relationship to the Hoffman-Hayman Company is unknown from current sources.
Founding
Charter filed with the Texas State Department on approximately May 30, 1907 (reported in San Antonio Express-News, May 31, 1907).
- Capital stock: $10,000
- Incorporators: H. C. Wedemeyer, Carson Wedemeyer Jr., J. L. Mayfield, John S. Bridge
- President: H. C. Wedemeyer
Location
Corner of Buena Vista and Comal streets, San Antonio, Texas.
Operations
As of August 1907, two newspapers covered the company’s opening. The SA Express-News (Aug 25) called it “the largest of its kind in the State” and noted:
- All coffees thoroughly cleaned before roasting
- All objectionable chaff eliminated after roasting — “insures the best results and a wholesome product”
- Machinery “most modern in every particular”
- Aimed “to take care of the coffee trade of Southwest Texas”
The SA Light (Aug 25) published a profile quoting president Wedemeyer (see New Enterprise Deserves Success):
- “One of the most complete and up-to-date coffee-roasting plants in the entire south”
- Purchased in car-load lots
- Emphasized expertise in buying, blending, and roasting
President Wedemeyer on the company’s philosophy (San Antonio Light, Aug 25, 1907):
“We believe there is as much art in blending coffee as there is in painting a picture, and our long experience in buying, blending and roasting, insure to our customers the most satisfactory results.”
Open questions
- What was the eventual fate of the Western Coffee Company?
- Is there a connection between the Western Coffee Company and the Hoffman-Hayman Company?
- Who was H. C. Wedemeyer, and did he have prior experience in the coffee trade?