H and H Coffee

Dedicated to the history of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. founded 1899 in San Antonio, Texas.

Menger Family — Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co.

The Menger family became the dominant force in the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company following W. E. Hayman’s exit in 1920. By 1923 they held every senior role in the company. Their connection to the firm began at its founding through Minnie Menger Hoffmann.

Members and roles

Mrs. (Dr.) William J. Schlosser — née Minnie Menger

Role: Vice-President and Director (founding through at least 1923)

Daughter of Dr. R. Menger. Married William R. Hoffmann (co-founder). After his death she became one of three original incorporators of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company in February 1912. By 1923 she had remarried Dr. William J. Schlosser but retained her full interest and her role as Vice-President and Director.

The 1923 profile notes: “Mrs. Schlosser, a well-known San Antonio woman, who, by retaining her position in the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co., demonstrates her belief that San Antonio capital should be used in the promotion of San Antonio’s industries.”

See also: Minnie Menger Schlosser

G. P. Menger — President (1920–1960) — William R. Hoffmann’s brother-in-law

Vitals: 20 September 1889 – 5 August 1974, San Antonio. See Gustav P. Menger for the full biography.

Confirmed relationship: The December 21, 1932 “Tiny Roaster” article states directly: “Following the death in 1912 of the founder, his brother-in-law, Gus P. Menger became associated with the firm.” Gus is Minnie Menger’s brother, making him Hoffmann’s brother-in-law through marriage.

Role: President from 1920 (when he bought out W. E. Hayman’s interests) through May 1960, when he stepped to a newly-created Board Chairman role; his son Albert succeeded him as president.

The 1934 anniversary article identifies him as “G. P. Menger, president of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company, now celebrating 30 years in business in San Antonio.” The 1934 text also credits “the direction of G. P. Menger, R. W. Menger, and T. J. Menger” for the company’s growth.

The 1923 photo caption identified the president as “Gus R. Menger.” This is almost certainly the same individual — G. P. Menger, nicknamed Gus, with a middle initial discrepancy between the 1923 caption (“R.”) and all other sources (“P.”). The 1923 caption is likely an error. Resolved: G. P. Menger and “Gus R. Menger” are the same person.

Profile (1923): “A president that sells.” Known for keeping in close personal contact with grocers. “His very splendid personality has been the base of his extraordinary success as a salesman of the products he manufactures. He roasts the products you praise.”

Rudolph W. Menger (R. W. Menger) — Secretary-Treasurer

Full name confirmed: Rudolph W. Menger (SA Light, Aug 14, 1921)

Role: Secretary and Treasurer as of August 1921; Secretary-Treasurer by 1923; Secretary by 1934

Quote: “Our success is due to our ability to properly sell the proper quality products and to back him with effective advertising and sales-helps.”

Described as having “the figures” — the most informed person on company growth and progress.

T. J. Menger — Credit Manager (1923) → Treasurer (1934)

Role: Credit Manager (1923); Treasurer by October 1934

Prior to joining Hoffmann-Hayman, T. J. Menger was bookkeeper and teller at the Alamo National Bank for ten years.

Louis B. Menger (L. B. Menger) — Office Manager → Custodian of Accounts

Full name confirmed: Louis B. Menger (SA Light, Aug 14, 1921)

Role: Office Manager as of August 1921; Custodian of Accounts by 1923

Described as holding “a valuable but thankless job” — faithfully recording every transaction. Duties daily increasing as sales increased.

Albert G. Menger — President (1960–) — son of G. P. Menger

Role: Elected president May 4, 1960, succeeding his father.

The May 5, 1960 San Antonio Express-News announcement confirms the relationship: G. P. Menger, quoted as the new board chairman, said: “I am indeed proud that our directors have given the responsibility for leadership as president of this long-established San Antonio industry to my son, Albert.”

Biography: Age 42 in May 1960 (born c. 1917–1918). Graduate of St. Mary’s University, San Antonio. After graduation served five years in the U.S. Air Force. Joined Hoffmann-Hayman in 1945, with the firm for 15 years by his election.

Family: Wife Lemoyne; three children (Ruth, Barbara, Lemoyne). Residence: 206 Robinhood, San Antonio.

August Menger — Director (1960)

Named to the board of directors at the May 1960 stockholders/directors meeting alongside G. P., R. W., A. G. Menger, and Mrs. Mildred S. Holliday. Specific relationship to the other Mengers not yet established.

John C. Burkholder — VP of Sales (1960) — non-Menger

Not a member of the Menger family, but noted here for completeness of the 1960 leadership transition. Elected vice president in charge of sales May 4, 1960. With the firm since 1945; previously sales manager. Took charge of the firm’s entire sales territory: South Texas, from Austin to the Rio Grande Valley.

1960 leadership transition

At the May 4, 1960 stockholders and directors meeting:

Office Officer
Board Chairman (newly created) G. P. Menger (former president)
President Albert G. Menger
Executive Vice President R. W. Menger
Vice President, Sales John C. Burkholder
Secretary-Treasurer T. J. Menger

Directors elected: G. P. Menger, R. W. Menger, A. G. Menger, August Menger, Mrs. Mildred S. Holliday.

Family control timeline

Period President Key Menger roles
1912 W. E. Hayman G. P. Menger (Secretary), Minnie Menger Hoffmann (VP)
Jan 1920 G. P. Menger (Menger brothers purchased business) Rudolph W. Menger (Sec-Treas), Louis B. Menger (Office Mgr)
Aug 1921 G. P. Menger Rudolph W. Menger (Sec & Treas), Louis B. Menger (Office Mgr)
Dec 1922 G. P. Menger R. W. Menger (Sec-Treas), Mrs. William Schlosser (VP) — Minnie had already remarried
1923 G. P. Menger (caption error: “Gus R.”) R. W. Menger (Sec-Treas), T. J. Menger (Credit Mgr), L. B. Menger (Accounts), Minnie Menger Schlosser (VP/Director)
Dec 1932 Gus P. Menger R. W. Menger (Secretary), T. J. Menger (Treasurer), William P. Hoffman (VP)
1934 G. P. Menger R. W. Menger (Secretary), T. J. Menger (Treasurer), Minnie Menger Schlosser (VP)
Sep 1959 Gus P. Menger R. W. Menger (Exec VP), Albert G. Menger (Secretary), T. J. Menger (Treasurer), John C. Burkholder (General Sales Mgr, non-Menger) — Albert documented in the company before his May 1960 elevation
May 1960 Albert G. Menger (G. P. Menger → Board Chairman) R. W. Menger (Exec VP), T. J. Menger (Sec-Treas), John C. Burkholder (VP Sales, non-Menger); directors also incl. August Menger, Mildred S. Holliday
1962 (Sale) Continental Coffee of Chicago purchases H&H. T. J. Menger retires after 41 years (1921→1962). End of Menger family control.

Dr. R. Menger — patriarch

The 1909 marriage notice identifies Wilhelmina (Minnie) Menger’s parents as Dr. and Mrs. R. Menger, residing on East Commerce Street. Since Gus P. Menger was Hoffmann’s brother-in-law (and Hoffmann married Minnie), Dr. R. Menger is almost certainly Gus P. Menger’s father as well — making Dr. R. Menger the patriarch of the Menger family in this business.

The 1912 SA Light death notice refers to “daughter of Dr. R. Menger” for Minnie, corroborating this.

Family genealogy — four generations

The Hoffmann-Menger-Schlosser family tree spans four generations, and the third generation supplied essentially every senior officer of Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company from 1920 onward. The connection to San Antonio’s hospitality elite runs through Catherine Menger’s grandfather — a previously-tangential link now first-class in KB:

Gen 1  William L. Menger (Menger Hotel founder, Alamo Plaza)
       │
Gen 2  Catherine Menger ── m. ── Dr. Rudolph Menger (San Antonio physician)
       (William L.'s            (East Commerce Street household)
        granddaughter)
       │
Gen 3  H&H "Menger generation" — siblings and cousins, all officers by mid-1920s:
       │
       ├─ Wilhelmina "Minnie" Menger ── m. (1) ── William R. Hoffmann (1909)
       │   │  (VP/Director 1912+,                  (founder, died Jan 1912)
       │   │   d. 1956)                            │
       │   │                                       └─ William R. Hoffmann Jr.
       │   │                                          (Dec 1910 – Jan 1911,
       │   │                                           infant; only child)
       │   │
       │   └─ ── m. (2) ── Dr. William J. Schlosser (b. 1875, d. 1963)
       │                   (second husband; appears in family material;
       │                    "Mrs. Schlosser" replaces "Mrs. Hoffmann" by Dec 1922)
       │
       ├─ Gustav P. Menger (b. 1889, d. 1974)
       │   (Secretary 1912, President 1920–1960, Board Chairman 1960–)
       │   │
       │   ├─ m. (1) Rosa Lee Crowther (1917)
       │   ├─ m. (2) Catherine Adell Brinkman Paxson (1956)
       │   │
       │   └─ children include Albert Gus, Barbara Ann, Mary Margaret, Rose Marie
       │       (Gen 4; Albert succeeds father as president 1960)
       │
       ├─ Rudolph W. Menger (Sec-Treas 1920+, Exec VP 1960)
       ├─ T. J. Menger (Credit Mgr 1923, Treasurer 1934, Sec-Treas 1960)
       ├─ Louis B. Menger (Office Mgr 1921, Custodian of Accounts 1923)
       ├─ A. G. Menger (Asst Secy on early letterhead)
       └─ August Menger (Director 1960; sibling-cousin relationship unverified)
       │
Gen 4  Albert G. Menger (b. c.1917–18, son of Gus P.; d. Feb 1994)
       (St. Mary's University; 5 years US Air Force; joined H&H 1945;
        President May 1960 → 1962 Continental Coffee acquisition)
       Plus Gus's other children (Barbara Ann, Mary Margaret, Rose Marie),
       and Albert's three children (Ruth, Barbara, Lemoyne)

Generational dynamics

  • Gen 1 (William L. Menger) establishes the Menger Hotel name as a 19th-century San Antonio hospitality landmark — value the family carried into the next-century coffee business as cultural capital. The hotel is on Alamo Plaza, a few blocks from H&H’s various downtown plant addresses (208 E. Commerce, 1223 W. Commerce, 307 N. Medina, 331 Burnett before the 1932 Delaware Street move).
  • Gen 2 (Catherine Menger + Dr. Rudolph Menger) bridges hospitality money/standing into a physician household on East Commerce Street. Dr. R. Menger has no documented direct role in H&H operations but is the patriarch by genealogy.
  • Gen 3 (H&H Menger generation) is the working family: Minnie + her brothers/cousins staffed every senior office at H&H by 1934. The exact sibling-cousin relationship among Gus P., R. W., T. J., L. B., A. G., and August Menger remains a project Open Question — the 1934 anniversary feature styles them collectively as “Menger brothers” but doesn’t enumerate the sibling-vs-cousin relationships.
  • Gen 4 (Albert G. Menger) runs H&H through the Continental Coffee transition. The Hoffmann line ends here — William R. Jr. died in infancy (1911), and Minnie’s second marriage to Dr. Schlosser produced no documented H&H-officer children.

The Menger Hotel connection

The single most distinctive feature of the H&H family story is that the firm’s senior leadership comes from the same family that owned San Antonio’s landmark hotel — a connection that runs through Catherine’s grandfather William L. Menger. Why this matters:

  1. Hotel-trade pre-existing channel. H&H’s hotel-and-restaurant trade brand was Master Chef Coffee (c.1927 origin per project lore + 1952 “25-year favorite” corroboration). E. E. Knous’s role as restaurant specialist appears in 1923 — so H&H was selling to the hotel/restaurant trade well before Master Chef was branded. The Menger Hotel itself was a plausible internal first-customer for hotel-trade coffee, though no surviving invoice or 1920s-era contract documents this directly. The proximity of Mi Tierra Cafe (Market Square, founded 1941) as a known Master Chef customer is the analogous post-1941 documented case.
  2. Brand naming. The retail line Menger Hotel Coffee (a Hoffmann-Hayman wordmark named for the family hotel) and the separate Menger Peaberry Coffee (renamed from Fancy Peaberry circa 1920–1923, contemporaneous with the Menger family takeover of the firm) both invoke the hotel-family identity in retail marketing.
  3. Cultural capital. The Menger Hotel connection gave the family business credentials and trust in the San Antonio commercial community — visible in the 1923 San Antonio Light H&H Day feature where the firm’s executives are portrayed as established San Antonio business society alongside other landmark concerns.

Open questions

  • What is the precise relationship among G. P., R. W., T. J., and L. B. Menger — brothers, cousins? (All four are styled as Menger brothers in the 1934 anniversary feature, but no direct sibling enumeration is in hand.)
  • Did Dr. R. Menger have any direct role in the business?
  • When exactly did G. P. Menger join the company — was it immediately after the 1912 charter (where he is listed as Secretary), or did he participate earlier during Hoffmann’s lifetime?
  • Who is August Menger (1960 director) — relation to G. P., Albert, etc.?
  • Who is Mrs. Mildred S. Holliday (1960 director) — is she a Menger by birth (e.g. daughter or sister), and what is the connection?
  • Albert G. Menger served as president from May 1960 to the 1962 Continental Coffee acquisition — about two years before the sale. What was his role at Continental (if any) after the acquisition?
  • The Menger granddaughter — reconnect and explore collaboration. The granddaughter of Rudolph W. Menger (R. W. Menger, Secretary-Treasurer) visited the factory in December 2014 with her husband. She is a published author and brought family photographs including the 1930s factory group image (the most human artifact in the collection). The visit post records that she and her husband “clearly carry a deep store of family stories about the Mengers in coffee, soap, and as hoteliers” and that more contact was intended — but no follow-up is documented in the KB. She is the single most important person to re-engage for a book project: she has the inside oral history, additional artifacts, and publishing experience the research alone cannot supply. Research angles: identify which of Rudolph W. Menger’s children/grandchildren she descends from; locate her published work; reach out through any San Antonio or family connection. See Mystery § Producing a book for the full book-production framing.

See also

Per-person KB pages