MARK ZUCKERMAN: Coffee Ventures

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Pasqua Coffee
Pasqua Coffee started as a single store, serving customers standing on the sidewalk. It was first known as The Pedestrian Café when it opened in 1983. The company grew from its San Francisco base to Los Angeles and then to New York. When Starbucks Coffee purchased it in 1999, the Pasqua chain operated 58 stores and served 1,000,000 customers a month.
 
 

In addition to creating the coffee service concept and directing the sales, marketing and operations divisions, Zuckerman provided the real estate leadership for siting, leasing, construction, turnover and opening of all 58 company owned stores as well as franchised locations. From project concept, architectural design direction, budget creation and construction oversight, Zuckerman managed the companyｹs growth and development for all of its 15 years.

San Francisco's two daily newspapers gave announcement of the Pasqua Coffee sale to Starbucks front–page coverage in the midst of big national and international news stories.

San Francisco Chronicle, December 16, 1998
San Francisco Examiner, December 16, 1998
 
Pasqua Coffee was honored by the Nations' Restaurant News in its first—issued "Hot Concepts" award in 1995.
Nations' Restaurant News, May 22, 1995
 
Kona Coffee Farmers
 
In 1978, exclusive supply contracts threatened to lock Kona Coffee farmers out of the emerging specialty coffee category. Traveling to the Kona coast, Zuckerman conducted a seminar about the new specialty coffee market for the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative at their board meeting. He brokered their first sale to a specialty coffee buyer who paid a premium over their previous sales.
In 1996, Kona Farmers again found Zuckerman a strong ally. After a swindler filled Kona, Hawaii coffee bags with low–cost central American coffee beans, the embarrassed purchasers all blamed the "mediocrity" of the Kona product for their inability to distinguish the difference. The Kona farm leaders flew to San Francisco as Zuckerman issued a call to the press, creating a publicity and sales campaign defending the 100–year integrity of America's only coffee product from unjustified attack.

Click here to read CNN coverage.