Julius Meinl Coffee House: Company Profile

Still relatively fresh to Chicagoland, and specifically on the corner of Montrose and Lincoln Avenue, is a landmark of sorts with a long history that dates back hundreds of years. Perched on a canopy over the entrance to the Julius Meinl coffeehouse at 4363 N. Lincoln is what employees refer to as the Meinl coffee boy, a 6-foot-2-inch bronze sculpture of a lad wearing a fez and looking into the bowl of coffee.

The Vienna-based Meinl, with two cafes in Chicago and five across the globe (including outlets that carry the brand) pays homage to the Turkish Ottoman Empire and its contributions to the coffee world, explains Natalie Berg, director of marketing for Julius Meinl North America.

Julius Meinl founded his first store in 1862 selling spices in the center of Vienna. He soon added green coffee beans to his range of products. Roasting the green coffee beans on the family kitchen stove in those days was not easy and the beans were often burnt. So Julius Meinl had the innovative idea of selling freshly roasted quality coffee in his little store.

Buying freshly roasted coffee soon became popular in Vienna. In 1891 he opened a modern roasting plant on the site where Pasha Kara Mustapha’s defeated Ottoman Army abandoned its coffee bags in 1683. After the end of World War I in 1918 the company expanded into many of the new Succession States in Central Europe, which were created from the now defunct Austrian Habsburg and Ottoman Turkish Empires.

The company’s fortunes recovered and built hundreds of successful food stores and production plants throughout Central Europe. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 over 1,000 company and franchise stores were operated in Central Europe. This war and its aftermath led to most of the company’s stores and production plants being lost or destroyed.

With the expansion of Soviet Communism into Central Europe only Austria and its capital Vienna remained outside the Russian Communist Empire. The dissolution of this Russian Empire at the end of the “Cold War” in 1991 brought new opportunities for trade and travel among the neighboring countries of Central Europe.

In 1995 Austria joined the European Union and became part of an enlarged European trade area. The previously protected Austrian regional market was opened to new competition. Julius Meinl faced new challenges but was also offered new opportunities. By 2000 Julius Meinl had exited general food retailing in Austria and returned to its roots: to be leading quality suppliers of coffees, teas, jams and other fine foods.

A single world class Julius Meinl Gourmet grocery and delicatessen store was opened in 2000 at Vienna’s city center. The little Meinl coffee boy, since 1924 the company’s coffee logo, is today the Group’s flag carrier for quality and excellence.  

Transition of the Brand

The little coffee boy logo, originally designed in 1924 by Viennese artist Josef Binder and modernized in 1950 by artist Otto Exinger, combines Turkish Sultanate and Arabic traditions with those of the Baroque Angels of European architecture.

Coffee was brought to Vienna in 1683 by the besieging Turkish army of Pasha Kara Mustafa. The Fez, the red head dress with black tassel, was worn widely in the Turkish lands and was a symbol of the sovereignty of the Sultan, whose center of administration was the “Sublime Porte” in Constantinople, today’s Istanbul.

Both the Arab Lands and the Coast of East Africa were among the many regions owing allegiance to the Sultan. Legend claims that coffee originated in the Ethiopian province of Kaffa in AD 850 and that the name derives from the Arabic “qahwah”. The Baroque Angels of European architecture combined youthful features with a friendly, winning look.

The little Meinl coffee boy is the quintessence of these ideas and sentiments. The fez was originally a Greek Christian fashion prevalent in the Aegean Islands. It initially derived from the Barbary corsairs. It was manufactured in Austria for the Ottoman Turkish market. The little coffee boy with red fez is the internationally registered trademark of the Julius Meinl Group, based in Vienna, Austria.

Company Product Focus

The secret to producing excellent coffee lies in the selection of the beans and the roasting process. Master Roaster Helmut Smutka is head of coffee roasting activities at Julius Meinl and ensures the persistent high quality.

These Julius Meinl light, medium and dark roasted coffee blends are sold from traditional brass containers to preserve their exquisite aroma and taste.

Kolschitzky Kaffee
Kaiser Melange
Vienna Breakfast Blend
Meinl Espresso Spezial
Vienna House Blend
Meinl’s Decaf Spezial
Pan America Blend
East Africa Blend

Website
www.meinl.com

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