Chock full o'Nuts
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| Product type | Coffee |
|---|---|
| Owner | Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1932 |
| Markets | North America |
| Previous owners | Chock Full o'Nuts Sara Lee Corporation |
| Tagline | "The Heavenly Coffee" |
| Website | chockfullonuts |
Chock full o'Nuts is a brand of coffee originating from a chain of New York City coffee shops.
Its unusual name derives from the eighteen shelled nut shops founder William Black (ca. 1902-1983) had established under that banner in the city beginning in 1926. When the Depression struck he converted them to lunch counters serving a cup of coffee and a sandwich for 5 cents.
In time the brand grew popular, being introduced to the consumer market through grocery stores starting in 1953. Today it is owned by coffee giant Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, the largest privately held firm in the industry.
The chain was founded by immigrant William Black, who sold nuts in Times Square to theater-goers. In 1926, he opened a store on Broadway and 43rd Street, eventually adding seventeen more. When the Depression settled in, New Yorkers could no longer afford the luxury of shelled nuts, so Black converted his shops into lunch counters, selling coffee and sandwiches.
Their signature "nutted cheese" sandwich, made of cream cheese and chopped nuts on dark raisin bread, cost a nickel with a cup of coffee when the company was founded. When coffee prices went up in the 1950s, Black, like other restaurateurs, held to a 5-cent cup of coffee by watering it down. But he soon broke ranks and raised the price, announcing that he refused to compromise on quality.
In 1953, the coffee brand was introduced to supermarkets. Several years later baseball star Jackie Robinson became the company's vice president and director of personnel, after retiring from the game. In 1961, Chock full o'Nuts introduced a brand of instant coffee.
Within that decade the chain had approximately 80 restaurants in the New York City area. Hygiene was a selling point, with the sandwiches advertised as "untouched by human hands". Cooks used tongs to assemble them.
In 1974, Chock full o'Nuts purchased Rheingold Brewery. In the 1970s, the lunch counters gradually closed. About this time, with Black increasingly advanced in age, Steinfield, a major real estate operator in New York City who wanted the property that the restaurants occupied, declared war on Chock full o'Nuts. He stated that when he won his actions he would close the restaurants. After Black died, the company sold its remaining 17 restaurants to the restaurant company Riese Bros. In 1988, investor Martin D. Gruss and the companies he controlled purchased a 10-percent stake in the Chock full o'Nuts Corporation, saying he might seek control of the company. In 1993, Chock Express stores were introduced.
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