Joel Owsley Cheek

Cheek was born on December 8, 1852, in Burkesville, Kentucky. He attended Transylvania University in 1868.

Cheek began his career as a school teacher for two years. He subsequently became a peripatetic salesman for the Webb Wholesale Grocery Company Tennessee and Kentucky. Cheek invested in the company, and it became known as Cheek, Webb & Co.

With investors L. T. Webb, J. J. Norton and J. W. Neal, Cheek opened a coffee shop in Downtown Nashville in 1901. They persuaded the owners of the Maxwell House Hotel to serve their coffee, and they use the name of the hotel as their coffee brand. They began using the slogan "good to the last drop" in 1917. In 1928, Cheek sold the brand to Postum Co. for $42 million; it was subsequently purchased by General Foods. However, he was featured in Maxwell House advertisements until his death.

Cheek married Minnie Ritchey in 1873. He had eleven children. He resided in Nashville, Tennessee: first at 513 Woodland Street in East Nashville and later 209 Louise Avenue near Centennial Park and Vanderbilt University. His cousins were the owners of Cheekwood, which later became a museum. Cheek was a Christian, and a strong advocate of prohibition. He never smoked or drank.

Cheek died on December 14, 1935, in Jacksonville, Florida. His portrait hangs in the Cumberland County Library in Burkesville, KY.

He served on the Board of Trustees for the George Peabody College for Teachers (now part of Vanderbilt University) and contributed liberally to the institution. Additionally, he founded the Nashville Conservatory of Music.