like any great American innovator, he
synthesized this information. One day, he
had an epiphany, and started designing the
prototype for the San Franciscan roaster.
( at roaster, by the way, is still roasting
away in California's El Dorado Hills.)
e San Franciscan roaster quickly
gained a following. Focusing mainly on
the 25-pounder (similar in size to Probat's
L-12) but also manufacturing 1, 6, 75,
150 and 300-pound roasters, Co ee/PER
moved from California to the small town
of Fallon, Nevada, in 1993. As time passed,
Dodd built great roasters and sold them to
great people, but eventually he wore out.
Ready for retirement, he stopped building
roasters. He stopped maintenance and
support. He stopped making the parts for
San Franciscans. Worn a er a lifetime of
hard work, he was ready to unload the
company he'd built.
ENTER BILL KENNEDY
A genial mountain of a man with an
air of con dence built on years spent as
a principal, fathering six children and
countless years studying a wide variety
of subject both in academia—he pursued
doctoral studies in organizational
leadership—and outside of it Kennedy
was looking for a new career in 2007.
e oldest of ve brothers who, except
for him, all owned co eehouses scattered
around the country and roasted on San
Franciscans, he had fallen hard for the
San Franciscan.
"I've loved the roaster since the rst
time I saw a San Franciscan," he says.
"I thought it was the coolest piece of
equipment on the planet. It had that old
fashioned look to it, and I love that. And
it just seemed like a sweet, cool-looking
piece of equipment. I guess you could say
I was drawn to the roaster rst and then
to co ee a er."
A er a whirlwind visit in late 2007,
Kennedy plunked down most of his
savings for the company, caravanned his
family from Arkansas to Nevada, and
spent a frantic few months trying to soak
up as much knowledge from Dodd as
possible, completely disassembling and
refurbishing an SF25 for a customer in
Florida, and revitalizing the line of SF6s,
adding a mechanized cooling sweep.
The next five years began to
demonstrate the brilliance and authority
of Kennedy's vision for San Franciscan.
TRUE
JAMAICAN
RUM CAKE
Butter Rum
Chocolate Rum
Caramel Rum
Rum Raisin
Red Velvet
Also available
Wicked Jack's
Gourmet Coees:
Silver Oar Estate
Pirates Blend,
Ol'Gran Butter Rum
ree Barrel Chocolate Rum
Captain Jack's Red Velvet Brew
Call 800.JAVA.123
or 770.421.9600
for your free samples
WickedJacksTavern.com
Available in
4 oz , 20 oz and 33 oz
S F R' CEO, B K.
18-20 ready to roast SCR0414.indd 19 4/4/2014 7:35:08 AM