Amarillo Equipment Company Has Roots in the Coffee Business

Nowadays you'll find a coffee company and coffee shop on every corner.   However, this is a recent development in the last twenty years.

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In the past, it wasn't a normal thing to have a ton of coffee shops in one town.  In fact, most of the time the coffee shop was connected to a diner and that's where your grandpa or great-grandpa or great-great-grandpa went to have coffee with the guys.

It was rare to have an actual coffee company in town that produced its own coffee.

The Golden Light Coffee Company

The Golden Light Coffee Company was located at 1010 W. 6th street.  The company was opened in 1929 by Hugh Donnell.   The company was the only coffee roaster in the Texas Panhandle and also served West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.

The main business of the Golden Light Coffee Company was coffee.  These are the roasters they used to make the coffee.

Near the middle of the 50s part of their focus changed over to equipment as well and they changed their name to Golden Light Coffee and Equipment Company.  By the 60s they had become the Golden Light Equipment Company.  The Golden Light Equipment company is still in business today.

What Happened to the Golden Light Coffee Company?

The coffee part of the business was sold to Cain's Coffee Company in the late 60s. Thomas Donnell, son of founder Hugh Donnell,  joined Cain's at that time and became the CEO of Cain's in 1980 and served in that position for 18 years.  Thomas recently passed away at the age of 88.

The Golden Light Equipment Company is still in business today at the same location that the Golden Light Coffee Company called home back in the day.

This full-page ad appeared in the Amarillo Sunday News and Globe - Golden Anniversary Edition 1938

Even today, the Golden Light Coffee tins are collector's items.