By Lee Davis
Some people drink coffee every day.
Hatton Smith is one of them. The Mountain Brook resident also lives and breathes the world’s most popular beverage.
As the CEO emeritus of Birmingham-based Royal Cup Inc., Smith helps operate the top coffee supplier to restaurants, hotels and offices across the nation. Last year, Royal Cup produced $360 million in sales and employed more than 800 people. It’s estimated that Royal Cup serves about one million cups of coffee daily.
Smith said Royal Cup’s success is much more about people than it is coffee.
“We are more about hospitality and relationships than just serving coffee,” he said. “Helping our customers meet their needs is a big key to what we do here.”
That philosophy is evident at Royal Cup’s corporate headquarters in the Pinson Valley area. The receptionist greets guests with a smile and warm handshake before directing them to the refreshment room, where, of course, Royal Cup coffee and tea products are offered. Guests also receive a sampler of some of the company’s best coffee blends before leaving.
“We never let a visitor leave here empty-handed,” Smith said.
Royal Cup’s roots in Birmingham go back to the nineteenth century, when Henry T. Batterton became well known for the high-quality coffee he served at local town meetings. He started the Batterton Coffee Company, and by the 1930s, it had become the largest coffee supplier in Alabama.
In 1950, the company was sold to Smith’s family, which renamed it Royal Cup. Smith’s father, Billy, became the first CEO. Royal Cup began to provide service to restaurants and hotels in 1958 and established an office beverage division 10 years later.
Smith’s older brother, Bill Jr., succeeded his father as CEO, and Hatton Smith directed the company from 1996 to 2013.
He learned the business from the ground up, spending many weekends helping out at the office as a youngster. Smith began working at Royal Cup full-time after graduation from Washington and Lee University in 1973.
Ironically, Smith credits another well-known coffee company for the beverage’s rise in popularity with millennials and Generation Xers.
“Starbucks provided a cream blend drink that helped market coffee to a younger demographic,” Smith said. “It helped make coffee a drink of choice again. Twenty years ago, people thought it was cool to be a wine salesman. Now it’s cool to be a coffee salesman.”
The comparatively inexpensive cost of coffee is another key to its modern appeal, according to Smith.
“Coffee is seen as an affordable luxury,” he said. “Not everyone can afford a $60,000 car, but almost anyone can afford a good cup of coffee.”
Smith also takes pride in the company’s work as a corporate citizen. “We annually donate 5 percent of pre-tax profits to non-profit organizations,” he said.
Coffee isn’t Smith’s only passion. He is a tireless promoter of Birmingham, particularly in the area of sports. For example, Smith is heavily involved in the revival of the UAB football program, which was shuttered by university President Ray Watts after the 2014 season.
Smith and other leaders of Birmingham’s corporate community worked to help meet the Blazer program’s fundraising goals and secure Coach Bill Clark to a long-term contract. The next step, according to Smith, is to build a 30,000-45,000 seat stadium in the city’s Uptown district near the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex.
“We need to make UAB athletics culturally relevant,” Smith said. “We can create an atmosphere where people can go to shops and restaurants and then take in a game. If we do that, we will add to the fabric of the community much the same way that building Regions Park and bringing the Barons back to town did for that part of the city.”
While Smith works closely with UAB, he is also a fan of the University of Alabama and Auburn University. “I really do cheer for both schools,” he said, smiling.
Smith also enjoys telling Royal Cup’s and Birmingham’s story to local groups. He’ll be the keynote speaker at the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon Jan. 14.
Despite turning 65 last month, Smith has no plans to retire either from his professional or civic duties.
“Having fun while working hard is part of the Royal Cup psyche,” he said. “I’m having too much fun to give that up now.”
And why should he? For Hatton Smith, serving customers and the community at large is definitely his cup of coffee.
