Missouri Life September 2023

entered the family business. Hubertus died in 1898, leav ing Julius Schotten—a graduate of St. Louis University who was described as an intelligent businessman with great integrity—as the sole proprietor. Julius was one of the founding members of the National Coffee Roasters Traffic and Pure Food Association, which eventually became the National Coffee Association, a trade organi zation that still serves the industry. In 1919, Julius Schotten was hit by a car and died. Control of the company his father founded passed to Julius’s two children, Zoe and Jerome. Jerome bought out his sister in 1925. Julius’s widow, Pauline, was named vice-president, a notable appointment as the first female executive in St. Louis’s coffee industry. Jerome was president until he retired in 1947, and because there was no son to succeed him, the business was voluntarily dissolved. He died in 1958.

then known as Old Judge Food Corporation—was sold to New York-based Shaffer Stores and R.C. Williams and Company, although Old Judge continued to be headquar tered in St. Louis. In 1964, another New York firm, Chock Full o’Nuts Corporation, bought the Old Judge brand and sold coffee under that brand through the 1980s. Second Crack: Today, the Old Judge building at 710 North Second Street holds offices and is home to The Lou Eats & Drinks, a casual eatery on Laclede’s Landing. CUTTING THE MUSTARD William Schotten was among thousands who left Germany to seek their fortunes in St. Louis in the mid-19th century. Born in 1820 in Duesseldorf, Schotten built a reputation for making outstanding mustard. Joining the early wave of German immigrants in the mid-1830s and 1840s, Schotten relocated his mustard business to St. Louis. At first, Schotten sold his hand-ground mustard from a stand in Center Market House at Spruce and Poplar Streets. Soon, he could afford to purchase a horse and wagon, and he sold his product across the city. By 1847, he was able to open a small factory on South Third Street. He also operated a gristmill on North Market Street, although that facility would later be destroyed by fire. By 1860, Schotten’s brother, Christian, had joined him as partner, and the company became known as William Schotten and Company. The Schottens started roasting coffee in 1862. After Christian died, Schotten took on Henry Vesborg as part ner in 1867. By its 50th anniversary in 1897, the company had moved into a new building on Broadway and Clark, where it roasted its three coffee blends (Sinbad, Golden Days, and Queen’s Table) and manufactured baking pow der, culinary herbs, ketchup, sauces, and tea. When William died in 1875, sons Hubertus and Julius

THE WORKDAY PIONEER Irish immigrant William J. Kinsella was a civic leader and a progressive businessman. Born in Carlow, Ireland, in 1846, he attended school in Ireland and started his career with a Dublin wholesaler. At the age of 19, Kinsella crossed the Atlantic to seek his fortune in New York and Baltimore before settling down in Cleveland in 1870 to start a grocery business. Kinsella moved to St. Louis in 1874, and worked for two companies before being hired in 1879 by the Thompson Taylor Spice Company of Chicago to start its St. Louis operation. He purchased the business two years later and reorganized under the banner William J. Kinsella & Company. Over time, the business was renamed Hanley & Kinsella Coffee & Spice Company and operated two factories on Spruce Street. Kinsella’s business in the early 1900s also sold the H&K Coffee Maker, a predecessor to today’s pour-over V60 coffee pots. Inside three-pound cans of H&K Coffee were packets of paper filters and coupons entitling the bearer to purchase this “expensive French coffee making machine” for 50 cents. The most notable contribution, however, came in 1913 when Kinsella’s company introduced an eight-hour

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