Our infatuation with coffee started long before Don Dominguez and his father, Bud, founded K&F Coffee Roasters, in 1983.
In fact, Don’s great grandfather, Captain Sven (Fred) Fredrickson, sailed the seas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on his ship, the Matilda, searching the world over for the finest coffees to bring back to the coffee roasters in his home town of San Francisco.
It was Captain Fredrickson’s granddaughter, Nadine, who married J.K. (Bud) Dominguez, leading to future generations in coffee.
In the 1950s and 60s, Bud Dominguez studied the coffee business from turn-of-the-century master roasters of San Francisco. He became a buyer for the #1 national brand of coffee in the U.S.
“He knew what it took to make a good blend of coffee.”
Responsible for quality control, Bud’s prestigious role in the company enabled him to set important standards in the industry and help shape the future of coffee.
Over a period of 50 years, Bud perfected his skills in tasting, buying and blending the world’s premium coffees. He then passed these skills and exacting standards on to his son, Don.
Don inherited the coffee gene from his father and carried on the family tradition of putting his best cup forward.
In college, Don discovered that not all coffees are created equal. No one seemed to care about the quality of coffee in the same way that Don’s father had always instilled in him. Though Don searched restaurants and cafés in the Pacific Northwest for the best coffee he could find, his cup always came up empty.
Don recognized this coffee drought as an incredible opportunity to bring the coffee drinking experience he knew and cherished at home, to the public.
After sharing this awakening with his father, they decided to ride the wave or miss it all together. So, in the throes of economic hardship, they founded K&F Coffee Roasters.
“There was nowhere to go, but up!”
Don nurtured his baby into the flourishing, multi-faceted business it is today and stands by his promise of quality assurance.
K&F stands for Kittridge and Fredrickson, two old family names and Don’s Great Grandfathers. Kittridge was a San Francisco dock worker and Fredrickson a coffee-buying sea captain.