San Francisco’s oldest independent coffee roaster — not to mention one of the oldest craft roasters in North America — Graffeo Coffee is under fresh ownership. Walter Haas III — a member of the Haas family that grew Levi Strauss & Co. into a household name throughout the 20th century — purchased a majority stake in the coffee business from 81-year-old Luciano Repetto, who had been owner and primary roaster of the 90-year-old company for the past 47 years.
Haas and Repetto declined to share financial details of the acquisition beyond clarifying that Repetto remains a partner, co-owner, shareholder and owner of the Graffeo building in the “Little Italy” area of San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.
