The History of H&C Coffee and Quality Coffee Company

The History of Quality Coffee Company

Quality Coffee Company was first established in 1981 in Roanoke, Virginia. Initially known as Quality Coffee Service, the company provided office break beverage services to offices in and around Roanoke. The company founder, David Booth, had worked for some time for Woods Brothers Coffee Company prior to branching out on his own. While at Woods Brothers, he learned the importance of providing his customers with quality products, excellent service and value for their money. The company grew steadily for the next several years, building a reputation in the industry based on those early-learned lessons of Quality, Service, and Value.

In 1985, the company was literally wiped off the map by a devastating flood in the Roanoke Valley. Booth started over again, regaining his customer base and expanding his business to include the formation of a highly successful water company, Mountain Springs Water Company. It was during this time that he moved the company’s focus to include the food service venue. He reasoned correctly that the office coffee business was becoming saturated and that the food service industry offered more room for his company to grow. He followed this change in direction with a name change to Quality Coffee Company to better reflect the company’s new focus. He also invested in the company’s future by moving the operation into a new facility in Roanoke, a new building he was able to construct after years of planning. Booth continued to develop his relationship with manufacturers of quality products. He believed that good communication was necessary between his company and the manufacturers in order to meet the ever-changing needs of his customers. Booth puts customers first in service, saying; “Their success is our success.”

The company, with its new direction, continued to grow and expand. Word soon got around the food service industry that Quality Coffee was not only a reliable source for great coffee and teas, but provided a level of customer service unmatched in Southwest Virginia.

In September 2000, Booth acted on an opportunity and acquired H&C Coffee Company in Roanoke. H&C had formerly been the Woods Brothers Coffee Company where Booth had learned his early lessons in customer satisfaction. With the acquisition, came over 70 years of satisfied customers and a lifetime of experience in customer service. The joining of these two great companies insured the future and continues the tradition founded by both; the tradition of providing customers with the best products available and a service experience, which exceeds their expectations.

In 2002, Booth's son, Brad Booth, joined the company. He began learning as much about how the business worked as he could. Starting in the warehouse and moving up in to equipment maintenance and on into sales, the younger Booth began to excel and expand his knowledge of the business. He is responsible for moving Quality Coffee Company into the digital age we live in by establishing an online presence for product sales as well as social media designed to stay in touch with his customers and community.

Quality Coffee Company continues to grow. We earn new customers every day by delivering on our promise of Quality, Service and Value. We are thankful for the opportunity to help our local customers grow their business in the 21st Century and provide a reliable online source for all your coffee needs.

The History of H&C Coffee

 In 1927, Harold and Clarence Woods, brothers from Greensboro, North Carolina, established Woods Brother’s Coffee Company in Roanoke, Virginia. They started the company with the simple belief that “Service, Quality and Freshness would sell”. After a brief period, Harold purchased Clarence’s interest in the young company and Clarence returned to North Carolina.

Harold Woods grew the company by purchasing one 150-pound burlap bag of green coffee at a time. The coffee was hand-roasted, ground and packed and then sold to the local merchants of the Roanoke Valley. The coffee was branded “H&C Coffee”, and has been so to this day. Harold handled all facets of the growing company, from manufacturing to delivery. Initially, he converted the rumble seat in a 1920’s model car to haul his coffee to market. In just a short ten years, Woods Brother’s Coffee Company had grown to the point that fresh H&C Coffee was being delivered directly from the roasting plant in Roanoke to customer’s throughout most of Virginia and portions of North Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

During the war years of the 40’s, Harold made a trip to New York and was impressed by the neon signage used in advertising. Upon his return to Roanoke, he enlisted the help of a local sign company to design and install the “H&C Coffee” sign on top of the roasting plant located on east Campbell Avenue. The sign remained there until the mid 60’s at which time the plant was torn down. The famous sign was relocated to a building on Salem Avenue, which is currently home to Billy’s Restaurant. In 2005, after years of not working, the sign was repaired through funds raised from the local community and moved to its current location just a block away. It is now classified as a Historical Landmark.

Between the early 50’s and the late 70’s, Woods Brother’s Coffee Company enjoyed their best years. At one point the company sold more than four million pounds of H&C Coffee annually. Harold stuck to his belief in taking care of his customers. All requests, regardless of how trivial, were never ignored. Upon gaining knowledge of a death in a customer’s family, the company would immediately send flowers and send a representative to the funeral. The company was very proud of the employees and treated them well and with great respect. The salesmen were all addressed as “Mister” by all of the employees including the management staff. For the most part, all of the employees remained with the company until retirement. Currently, Robert (Red) Hartberger, who was hired in 1954 by Harold Woods, remains on staff and contributes greatly to the company’s success.

Harold Woods had nine children, of which eight were active in the business. At the time of his death, six of the children remained stockholders. His four sons became known as the “Woods Brothers”. They all served the company in numerous capacities, ending their respective careers as President.

            • Nevin Woods Sr. / President / '56 - '59
           •  Norman (Mutt) Woods / President / '59 - '66
            • Robert (Bob) Woods / President / '66 - '72
            • Edwin (Eddie) Woods / President / '72 - '89

In 1985, Roanoke experienced a devastating flood that affected most of the city. Woods Brother’s Coffee Co. was hit hard, losing the entire inventory of product, vehicles, equipment, and office records. The impact was so great the company was never able to recover. The doors were closed in 1989.

In 1990, the company was reopened as H&C Coffee Company by a group of private investors and was managed by Ed Woods, the former President of the company. The company remained a viable entity in Roanoke for the next ten years, meeting the needs of their loyal customers. In September of 2000, H&C Coffee Company was acquired by Quality Coffee Company. Like H&C, Quality Coffee was Roanoke-Born and Roanoke-Bred. Established in 1981 by David Booth, a past employee of Woods Brother’s Coffee, Quality Coffee was built on the similar tradition of meeting and exceeding the customer’s needs.

The joining together of these two great local companies has been well received by the Food Service Industry. Every day, more and more fine establishments are discovering that they can trust their highly profitable beverage program to Quality Coffee / H&C Coffee. Quality Coffee’s years of experience, outstanding product selection, and value-driven pricing, coupled with service and delivery that’s second to none, makes the choice in beverage service crystal clear. The future looks bright for Quality Coffee / H&C Coffee and their customers.