Ellis Coffee (founded 1854)
A 13-year-old named John Ellis bought the 54-year-old importing company where he worked in 1908 and renamed it John Ellis & Bro. Teas and Coffees. It grew into one of the oldest family-owned coffee roasters in the U.S., now run by the fourth generation out of Philadelphia.
The roaster built a regional wholesale and retail coffee business across generations.
It remains a Philadelphia coffee institution more than 170 years after its founding.
P & L Coffee's license adds a new coffee business to a city with a long coffee history, where family roasters like Ellis have operated for generations.
