In 1899 he established a tea, spice and coffee import business in his name that took over his brand with the assistance of brothers Mannie, Charlie, and Eddie.

[1] "In 1898, Edward Norton, of New York, was granted a United States patent on a vacuum process for canning foods, subsequently applied to coffee.

"[6]For the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 MJB created a temporary "ultramodern" coffee house featuring a giant cup and saucer on the roof with the illuminated word "WHY.

The campaign's success led to her being discovered by director Steven Spielberg, who cast her in his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

[13] In 2005 MJB, Hills Brothers, Chase & Sanborn, and Chock full o'Nuts were purchased by Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group from Sara Lee for $82.5 million.