Why Is It Called Chock Full O' Nuts When It's Just Coffee?

We're usually pretty good at dealing with figurative food names. We understand, unlike '00s era Jessica Simpson, that Chicken of the Sea is tuna (our eighth-favorite brand, in fact) and not chicken, and we know that Bundt pan favorite angel food cake isn't made from actual celestial beings. (Angels are far too expensive, and the artificial flavoring is pretty much identical to the real thing.) But, one brand that often trips shoppers up is Chock Full o' Nuts. Not only is it not a brand of nuts — it's a well-known brand of coffee — the original blend doesn't contain so much as a trace of nuts. Some people with nut allergies, while they wait for Xolair to make it through FDA regulations, even avoid buying the brand altogether, just to be safe.

So, why does a coffee brand have this name? Well, because once upon a time, before it started selling coffee, Chock Full o' Nuts did, in fact, sell nuts — then the Great Depression hit and the company had to pivot.

In 1926, a businessman named William Black leased a space in the basement of a drugstore in New York City. He was told that he could sell anything he wanted, so long as it wasn't something the drugstore also sold. As he was located on Broadway near several theaters, Black had the idea to sell nuts to theatergoers. It was an immediate success, with over 18 Chock Full o' Nuts locations opening across the city.

However, when the Great Depression took its toll, business slowed way, way down. Many people could barely afford bread, let alone nuts, and Black had to do something to keep his business afloat. He realized that the roasting equipment he used to prepare nuts could also be used to make coffee, and he set to work converting his nut shops into lunch counters where he could sell coffee and sandwiches. By the time canned coffee rolled around, another opportunity presented itself, and the rest is history.