Joel Owsley Cheek (December 8, 1852 - December 14, 1935) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of the

Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the Ma ...

coffee brand.

Early life

Cheek was born on December 8, 1852 in

Burkesville, Kentucky Burkesville is a home rule-class city in Cumberland County, Kentucky, in the United States. Nestled among the rolling foothills of Appalachia and bordered by the Cumberland River to the south and east, it is the seat of its county. The population ...

. He attended

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

in 1868.

Career

Cheek began his career as a school teacher for two years. He subsequently became a peripatetic salesman for the Webb Wholesale Grocery Company Tennessee and Kentucky. Cheek invested in the company, and it became known as Cheek, Webb & Co. With investors L. T. Webb, J. J. Norton and J. W. Neal, Cheek opened a coffee shop in Downtown Nashville in 1901. They persuaded the owners of the

Maxwell House Hotel The Maxwell House Hotel was a major hotel in downtown Nashville. Because of its stature, seven US Presidents and other prominent guests stayed there over the years. It was built by Colonel John Overton Jr. and named for his wife, Harriet (Maxwell) ...

to serve their coffee, and they use the name of the hotel as their coffee brand. They began using the slogan "good to the last drop" in 1917. In 1928, Cheek sold the brand to Postum Co. for $42 million; it was subsequently purchased by

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

. However, he was featured in Maxwell House advertisements until his death.

Philanthropy

Cheek gave away much of his fortune to educational institutions, civic improvement campaigns, recognized charities and other worthy causes."

Personal life, death and legacy

Cheek married Minnie Ritchey in 1873. He had eleven children. He resided in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

: first at 513 Woodland Street in

East Nashville East Nashville is an area east of downtown Nashville in Tennessee across the Cumberland River. The area is mostly residential and mixed-use areas with businesses lining the main boulevards. The main thoroughfares are Gallatin Ave (also known as Ga ...

and later 209 Louise Avenue near Centennial Park and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. His cousins were the owners of

Cheekwood Cheekwood is a historic estate on the western edge of Nashville, Tennessee that houses the Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. Formerly the residence of Nashville's Cheek family, the Georgian-style mansion was opened as a botanical garden and art museu ...

, which later became a museum. Cheek was a Christian, and a strong advocate of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. He never smoked or drank. Cheek died on December 14, 1935 in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. His portrait hangs in the Cumberland County Library in Burkesville, KY.

References

External links

Joel Cheek biography
at Kraft Foods Inc. (archived, 24 Jul 2003)
Joel Cheek
at Findagrave.com 1852 births 1935 deaths People from Burkesville, Kentucky People from Nashville, Tennessee Transylvania University alumni Businesspeople from Tennessee Philanthropists from Tennessee {{philanthropist-stub