Did you know? (Part 2 of 2)

In the last blog post, we shared the story of San Francisco's important role in keeping the country caffeinated.  

Well, it turns out that Greg's brother has a connection to that story.  Greg's brother, Michael J. Bendlin, has the same initials as one of the early coffee brands in San Francisco.  The brand, MJB, was founded during the same period as Hills Bros. and Folgers.  MJB, considered the third of the "big three", was likewise located in the S.F. neighborhood where we live.

One day, we went in search of the former MJB headquarters.  We found it a few blocks away.  It turns out that we had passed by the building many times during our daily walks.  

Below, some random hottie stands in front of the former MJB Coffee building at 665 3rd Street. 

MJB Coffee building, completed in 1916

The building, one of many warehouses in our neighborhood, is still known as the MJB building.

Below is a 1913 photo of an earlier MJB building near the waterfront.  Check out the big coffee pot on top of the building.

(From FoundSF.org)

Now, back to Greg's brother Mike, aka MJB.  This year, Mike celebrated a milestone birthday.  (Mike is a lot older than Greg.)   So, we sent Mike some genuine MJB coffee, plus a coffee mug with the MJB logo.  

Mike initially thought that the coffee can and mug were custom made for his birthday.  He was happy to learn that MJB Coffee is the real deal from the former coffee capital of the U.S.  

P.S.  In a small twist of fate, Hill Bros. and MJB, once rivals, are now part of the same family of businesses.  They are sister companies still serving great coffee after 140 years.  Did you know?