H and H Coffee

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

City of San Antonio jail. Site notes record that Hoffmann-Hayman supplied coffee to the jail as a wholesale / institutional account; one annual term is now anchored by a primary-source ordinance.

1959-60 contract (Ordinance 27,684)

On 25 June 1959 the City Council passed Ordinance 27,684, “ACCEPTING PROPOSAL AND CREATING CONTRACT WITH HOFFMAN-HAYMAN COFFEE COMPANY TO FURNISH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO JAIL WITH ALL REQUIREMENTS OF COFFEE FOR PERIOD BEGINNING AUGUST 1, 1959 AND TERMINATING JULY 31, 1960” (full text recorded in Ordinance Book I.I. p. 245). The award was one of four FY 1959-60 jail-supply contracts passed in the same session — Kimbell (staples, Ord. 27,683), H&H (coffee, Ord. 27,684), Apache Packing (meat, Ord. 27,685), Richter’s Bakery (bread). Source: jail-coffee-1959; event page: 1959 city contract — coffee for the San Antonio jail. The ordinance text uses the single-n “Hoffman-Hayman” spelling typical of period municipal records.

The 1959-60 award lands in the late G. P. Menger / pre-Albert-Menger era — G. P. Menger was still president at the bid date; Albert succeeded him in May 1960. It also predates the 1962 Continental Coffee of Chicago acquisition by three years.

Open questions

  • Was the 1959-60 award a one-off or part of a multi-year tenure? Successor ordinances for FY 1960-61, FY 1961-62, etc. would document whether H&H held the jail-coffee account across multiple fiscal years and how it intersected the 1962 Continental sale. Source to consult: San Antonio City Clerk’s Office, Ordinance Book I.I. and successor volumes.
  • What brand was delivered under the contract? The ordinance specifies “all requirements of coffee” but not the SKU. Master Chef is the most likely fulfillment line (institutional / cafe-trade grade, documented from 1932 onward); a Sam Houston or Texas Girl bulk variant is also plausible.
  • What were the pricing and volume terms? The minutes excerpt records only the proposal-acceptance action; pricing, monthly volumes, and specifications are in the full Ordinance Book I.I. p. 245 text, not yet pulled.
  • Earlier supply history. The 1959 ordinance is the earliest primary-source attestation; site lore suggests the relationship predated it. Earlier municipal records, Bexar County purchase orders, or H&H ledgers would document.

See also