Partial grocer-ad clip from the San Antonio Light of Monday, 12 February 1968 showing the Handy-Andy Stores “Valuable Coupon” mechanic for Master Chef Coffee — 1-Lb. can at 39¢ with coupon (the right panel), down from a 69¢ shelf price without coupon. The coupon is good thru Wed., Feb. 14, at Handy-Andy Stores in S. A., Texas. Both panels carry the bespectacled monocled chef mascot used in the post-1966 color-keyed-cans branding.
Three takeaways:
- Coffee-war price spread: 30¢ between shelf and coupon prices, near 44% off — Handy-Andy used the coupon mechanic to compete with the [15 June 1967 SA Light “COFFEE 59¢” cluster ads]({% post_url 1967-06-15-san-antonio-light-coffee-59c-master-chef-grocer-ad %}) without permanently cutting Master Chef’s posted price.
- Handy-Andy remained an active Master Chef Coffee retail partner in San Antonio in early 1968 — corroborates the 28 June 1962 SA Light Texas Gold Bonus Stamps grocer ad (HH-CLIP-1962-0004) which named Handy-Andy as one of the original Master Chef “appreciation certificate” honoring retailers.
- The monocled chef mascot has been retained from the pre-1962 Hoffmann-Hayman era through the 1966 color-keyed cans refresh and into early 1968 — a stable visual asset across the corporate ownership change.
Transcription
MASTER CHEF
COFFEE
1-LB. CAN WITH COUPON AT LEFT
39¢
Without Coupon 1-LB. CAN — 69¢
HANDY-ANDY’S MASTER CHEF VALUABLE COUPON
GOOD ON PURCHASE OF 1-LB. CAN
MASTER CHEF COFFEE
GOOD ONLY AT HANDY-ANDY STORES, S. A., TEXAS
COUPON GOOD THRU WED., FEB. 14
Source
- Handy-Andy Stores “Master Chef Valuable Coupon” grocer ad, San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Monday, 12 February 1968, p. 21.
- Digital clip: Newspapers.com (accessed 20 May 2026).
- Archived PDF: /assets/pdfs/1968-02-12-san-antonio-light-handy-andy-master-chef-coffee-coupon.pdf.
- Gallery: Newspaper Clippings (HH-CLIP-1968-0002).