Oberweis Dairy

Oberweis Dairy
Private
Industry Restaurant, home delivery
Founded 1927
Headquarters North Aurora, Illinois
Number of locations
 54
Area served
 IL, MO, WI, MI, IN, MN, VA
Key people
 Jim Oberweis, Chairman
Joe Oberweis, President and CEO
Products Dairy and fast food
Website

http://www.oberweis.com/

http://www.tbjburgers.com/

Oberweis Dairy, headquartered in North Aurora, Illinois, is the parent company of several dairy-related and fast food restaurant operations in the midwest region of the United States. Its businesses include a home delivery service available in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin, which delivers traditional dairy products, including milk, ice cream, cheese, and yogurt, as well as bacon and seasonal products. The businesses also include a chain of corporate-owned "Dairy and Ice Cream Stores", in the Chicago area, which sell many of the same products as the home delivery service, a distribution service which allows for some of their products (such as milk) to be available in regional supermarkets, and also includes a franchise service, which expanded the "Dairy and Ice Cream Stores" into Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, and Michigan after 2004. In 2012, Oberweis also began a new franchise of high-end, fast food hamburger restaurants called "That Burger Joint", intended to compete with Five Guys.[1] The firm is privately owned by the Oberweis family.[2]

History

The business was started in 1915 by Peter J. Oberweis, who made a profit by selling his excess milk to his neighbors in Kane County, Illinois. According to the Dairy's website, the family's farm was off of Molitor Road, in Aurora, Illinois. The family used a horse and carriage to deliver milk to their neighbors, beginning in 1927, after Peter J. Oberweis invested in half of the business of the Big Woods Dairy.[3] The business continued in the family, with Peter's son, Joe, running the business through the 1950s. Current owner, Jim Oberweis, purchased the company from his brother in 1986 and named his son, Joe, CEO in 2007.[4]

Businesses

Dairy and Ice Cream Stores

The Dairy and Ice Cream Stores have been in operation since 1951. The company currently has locations, both corporate-owned and franchised, throughout Chicago, its suburbs and northwest Indiana, around St. Louis, Missouri, and near Indianapolis, Indiana and Milwaukee, Wisconsin and near Detroit, Michigan. Some projects for the retail stores were done on a trial basis at the company's corporate office in North Aurora (which also includes a retail store) before being put into place at other locations, such as the stores' drive-through service, and the lunch/sandwich program, which began in 2004 and ended in July 2006. Most of those locations trialing the sandwich program (and select other stores) now carry a variety of pastry items, including cakes, brownies, and cookies. In 2012, Oberweis said that each dairy store generates between $1.25 million and $1.75 million per year.[5]

Home delivery

The company's home delivery service was begun by its founder in 1927 and has continued since that time. Although it is still delivered in glass bottles much in the same way milk was delivered throughout the United States through the 1960s, they also offer a modern smartphone app that allows you to track and time deliveries.[6]

That Burger Joint

Oberweis opened their first hamburger restaurant, intended to expand as a chain and compete directly with Five Guys.[1] The chain has four locations, all located in Illinois. The menu is simple, consisting of a "that burger" which is a double patty burger, a "junior burger" which is a single patty burger, the choice between a grilled or crispy chicken, hot dogs, chicken tenders, and patty melts (a temporary offering); each menu item is customizable by the customer.[7] French fries are offered as sides, and beverage options include Coca Cola products, Oberweis's chocolate milk or regular milk, or an Oberweis milkshake. Burgers use 100% Angus beef that is free of hormones, artificial additives and antibiotics.[8]

Health stance

Oberweis Dairy does not use or sell milk from cows treated with rBGH, recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, despite United States Food and Drug Administration statements that the hormone does not have any detrimental effects on humans. Oberweis Dairy states their reason for the decision is to successfully fulfill their motto, which is to "Provide simply the best people, products, and places." Oberweis requires all of their dairy farmers to sign an annual agreement to refrain from using rBGH.[9] Dairy cow diets contain corn and corn silage. Soy meal is used as a protein source. Haylage (chopped hay) and baled (dry) hay are also provided as feed. Vitamins and minerals are added to balance their diets. 90% of dairy herds graze when weather permits.[9]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Oberweis launches burger joint". Crain's Chicago Business. October 25, 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Slowik, Ted (March 22, 2016). "New award needed to honor most effective Illinois political ads". Daily Southtown. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "How It All Began". oberweis.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Sterrett, David (January 9, 2010). "Jim Oberweis gets back to business at family dairy". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Skokie Lands Sweet Prize in New Oberweis Dairy". NBC5 Chicago. 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Anderson, Leslie (September 24, 2015). "Does Your Business Have A Culture Of Innovation?". Forbes. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Menu". tbjburgers.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Our burger meat". tbjburgers.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Product FAQ". oberweis.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
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