Maxwell House Coffee, one of the two dominant mass-market American coffees, was the creation of Joel Owsley Cheek, a rural Kentucky native who served as a “drummer,” or traveling salesman, for a wholesale grocery firm. In 1884, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1892 approached the Maxwell House, a prestigious Nashville hotel, with his special blend of coffee. Impressed with consumer reaction, the hotel manager allowed Cheek to name his blend after the establishment.
Cheek quit his job in 1893 and formed a partnership with John Neal. The Cheek-Neal Coffee Company established a successful business in the Nashville area, opening additional roasting facilities in Houston, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and Richmond, Virginia, by 1916. Six of Cheek’s eight sons joined the firm. Cheek was a gracious boss who truly cared for his employees and believed that coffee was a boon to humankind. He was also a master marketer. He adopted the slogan “Good to the Last Drop” in 1920, claiming that Teddy Roosevelt had used the phrase in reference to Maxwell House Coffee. General Foods purchased Maxwell House in 1928, taking the brand national with ads featuring southern hospitality. During much of the Depression the Maxwell House Show Boat was the top-rated radio show, with favorite characters slurping the coffee audibly throughout the program.
