Chock full o'Nuts 2698454 222496971 2008-06-29T17:33:32Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes '''Chock full o'Nuts''' was a chain of [[lunch counter]]s in [[New York City]] that spawned a brand of [[coffee]]. ==History== The chain was founded by William Black (1903-1983), a Russian immigrant who sold nuts in [[Times Square]] to theater-goers. In 1926, he opened a store on [[Broadway (New York City)|Broadway]] and 43rd Street, and began selling coffee and sandwiches. By the 1960s, the chain had approximately about 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.) 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 the famous brew.<ref>Pendergast, Mark. ''Uncommon Grounds''</ref> 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 [[supermarket]]s. [[Jackie Robinson]] ultimately became a vice president of the company.<ref>[http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/jackie_robinson_letter/ National Archives & Records Administration: Jackie Robinson]</ref> <ref>[http://www.umass.edu/pubaffs/jackie/citizen1.html University of Massachusetts Amherst: The Jackie Robinson Educational Archives]</ref> In 1961, Chock full o'Nuts introduced a brand of [[instant coffee]]. In the 1970s, the lunch counters went out of business one by one. After Black died, the company sold its remaining 17 restaurants to the restaurant company Riese Bros. In 1988, investor [[Martin D. Gruss]] and companies he controlled purchased the equivalent of a 10 percent stake in the Chock Full o'Nuts Corporation, and said he might seek control of company.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DB1130F934A35756C0A96E948260 ''The New York Times'', May 7, 1988: "Company News: Chock Full o'Nuts Stake Purchased"]</ref> In 1993, Chock Express stores were introduced. The [[Sara Lee]] Corporation purchased Chock full o'Nuts for $238 million in 1999.<ref>[http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/food-beverage-stores/273776-1.html ''Food & Drink Weekly'', Monday, June 14 1999: "Persistent Sara Lee to Acquire Coffee-Maker Chock full o'Nuts for $238 Million"]</ref> <ref name="elliott">[http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/18/business/media/18adco.html?ex=1387083600&en=33ffed4090ad7651&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND ''The New York Times'', December 18, 2003: "Chock Full o'Nuts Draws on Its New York Ties", by Stuart Elliott]</ref> In May 2006, it was purchased from [[Sara Lee]] by [[Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA]], along with the [[MJB]], [[Hills Bros.]], and [[Chase & Sanborn]] coffee brands. == Jingle == "That Heavenly Feeling" :''Chock full o'Nuts is that heavenly coffee,'' :''heavenly coffee, heavenly coffee'' :''Chock full o'Nuts is that heavenly coffee,'' :''Better coffee a millionaire's money can't buy.''<ref name="elliott" /> Mid-2000s versions of the jingle replace "millionaire" with "billionaire" in the last line. The original jingle had "Rockefeller's money" but it was replaced by "millionaire's" after [[Nelson Rockefeller]], who had coffee businesses in Latin America, sued.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} The Chock full o'Nuts song, written by the duo Wayne and Bruce Silbert, frequently played over the radio airwaves in the 1950s and 1960s, was sung by the boss's wife, singer [[Page Morton Black]].<ref>[http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question32453.html FunTrivia.com: "Who sang the "Chock full o' Nuts" coffee jingle?"], citing [http://www.saraleecoffee.com/FAQ.asp defunct Sara Lee page]</ref> ==In the media== *A scene in the movie ''[[Escape from New York]]'' occurs in a Chock full o'Nuts store. *The exteriors of Chock Full o'Nuts restaurants can be seen on several episodes of [[Seinfeld]]. *A can of Chock Full o'Nuts appears on the kitchen-counter set of the CBS sitcom ''[[The King Of Queens]]'', which is set in [[Queens, New York]], and on the kitchen counter of the Uncle Junior set of the [[HBO]] [[television series]] ''[[The Sopranos]]'', which is set in New Jersey. *In the movie ''[[The Bucket List]]'', empty cans of Chock Full o'Nuts are used as [[Urn]]s for the main characters played by [[Morgan Freeman]] and [[Jack Nicholson]]. *In the premiere episode of the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series ''Eli Stone'', the title character carries his father's ashes in a Peanuts can, scattering them at a mountain in Chock Full o' Nuts, [[India]]. *It appears as a commercial in a scene in the film ''[[George of the Jungle (film)| George of the Jungle]]'' (1997). ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} ==References== *[http://www.chockfullonuts.com Official site] *[http://www.italianmade.com/trade/release.cfm?art_ID=233 "Zanetti Coffee acquires Sara Lee coffee brands"] ==External links== *[http://www.packagemuseum.com/exhibits/chockfullonuts01/chockfullonuts01.htm The American Package Museum: Chock full o'Nuts Coffee] [[Category:Coffee brands]] [[Category:Culture of New York City]] [[Category:Massimo Zanetti Beverage]] [[Category:New York City cuisine]]