NORTH AURORA, Ill – A long-time provider of milk in thick glass bottles at grocery stores locally and throughout the Midwest has a potential buyer not long after filing for bankruptcy.

Oberweis Dairy, based in the western Chicago suburb of North Aurora, announced April 23 that it has received a stalking horse bid to purchase a substantial amount of its operating assets under section 363 of the bankruptcy code.

The stalking horse bid is from Brian Boomsma, a prominent Chicago area business owner and founder of Dutch Farms in 1987.

Chicago-based Dutch Farms is a provider of milk, eggs, cheese, deli meat and bakery products to supermarkets in the Chicago area, including northern Indiana.

A stalking horse bid is the first bid offered to a bankrupt company before a public auction takes place and serves as the reserve bid to keep competing bidders from underbidding the initial bid.

His offer to purchase the company is still subject to approval in bankruptcy court.

“We are thrilled to have a business leader like Brian Boomsma interested in investing in Oberweis and enabling the company to continue to move forward and prosper,” said Adam Kraber, Oberweis president.

Kraber said he expects a Chapter 11 reorganization of the company under the bankruptcy filing to be completed in late June. He placed a similar timeframe on the company moving forward under new ownership.

Kraber said the intent of filing for bankruptcy was for the company to keep operating as it does normally while seeking debt relief and new ownership.

“We continue to be grateful to our loyal customers, vendors and committed employees who have supported us through this process,” he said.

Oberweis, founded in 1927, listed more than $4 million in debt to creditors on its bankruptcy papers. After filing, the company revealed plans to lay off more than 100 workers.

According to the company’s website, Peter J. Oberweis was a dairy farmer in Aurora nearly a century ago when he began selling extra milk to his neighbors from the back of a horse drawn wagon.

That same year, he became co-owner of Big Woods Dairy, then bought the remaining interest in the company and renamed it Oberweis Dairy.

In 1951, his son, Joe, opened the company’s first ice cream store in Aurora after perfecting his recipe and process for producing super premium ice cream.

In the 1960, one of his sons, John, became part of the family business and ran it until his death in 1986.

The family opened a second ice cream and dairy store in 1991 about 25 miles away in Glen Ellyn. Four years later, production moved to a new facility, which is also home to its corporate headquarters and a dairy store in North Aurora. 

There’s an Oberweis ice cream and dairy store in other places like Schererville, Ind., in the northwest part of the state. Oberweis products are available at stores throughout much of Illinois and Indiana along with parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa. 

The company also offers beef, chicken, pork and seafood while providing home delivery of its products.