San Franciscan Roaster Company gets new ownership under Dave Marson
Dave Marson bought San Franciscan Roaster Company, and Matthew Sewell became CEO as the heritage roaster maker tries to keep its identity intact.
San Franciscan Roaster Company has changed hands, with food manufacturing executive Dave Marson buying the Carson City, Nevada-based roaster maker and Matthew Sewell stepping in as chief executive. The company said the deal includes all of its assets and brand, but it did not disclose financial terms.
The ownership shift lands after the unexpected death of longtime owner, president and CEO Bill Kennedy in December 2025. That makes continuity the central question for a company whose website still describes it as a U.S.-assembled maker of hand-built commercial coffee roasters using American-made parts and premium steel.
Marson said the focus now is on stabilizing the business, supporting customers, strengthening operations and keeping the craftsmanship that made the brand stand out. His résumé points to an operator who has built and scaled production businesses before entering coffee-equipment ownership. Marson and his wife Jan founded Nature’s Bakery, later sold to KIND, which is part of Mars, and he also launched Marson Foods.
That manufacturing background includes a 2024 expansion in Hazelwood, Missouri, where Marson Foods opened a $35 million, 147,000-square-foot waffle bakery and distribution center with capacity for 150 million waffles a year. For roaster buyers watching the transition, that track record suggests Marson is approaching San Franciscan as a production and service business, not just a legacy label.
Sewell brings a direct coffee-equipment and roasting resume to the new leadership team. He previously held operations and engineering roles at San Franciscan and also co-founded and operated Magpie Coffee Roasters in Reno, giving him experience on both the factory side and the production-roasting side of the counter.
San Franciscan said it had eight employees at the time of the ownership change, including returning former staff Paris Kennedy, Alejandro Munoz and Brent Kennedy. The company is also exploring workforce collaborations with local colleges and universities, including the University of Nevada, Reno, a practical move for a niche manufacturer that depends on specialized labor.
Founded in 1992, San Franciscan still sells a lineup that runs from the SF-1 sample roaster to 6-pound, 10-pound, 25-pound and 75-pound models. Kennedy’s own profile at the company had cast him as a former school principal who became a champion of small roasters, U.S. manufacturing and coffee education, a history that helps explain why this sale is being watched as more than a routine transfer. For San Franciscan, the real test now is whether the Marson-Sewell era can preserve the trust built under Kennedy while keeping the brand’s service, parts and manufacturing identity intact.
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