The Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy Store on Kinzie Avenue in Bradley, IL
I have a love/hate relationship with Oberweis. I love their milk and ice cream. I hate their owner. Jim Oberweis is a name every Illinoisan knows. It would be hard not to. He’s ran for and lost just about every public office in Illinois. He’s the king of saying something stupid and can’t make it out of a primary. Usually, he does more damage to the Republican party by running a smear campaign in the primary that gives the Democratic challenge in the general election a head start. Case in point, the last gubernatorial election. He ran a smear campaign against rival GOPer Judy Bar Topinka showing her dancing with incarcerated former Governor George Ryan. He called it, “The Pay-To-Play Polka.” When he lost the primary, Topinka’s Democratic opponent and incumbent, Rod Blagojevich started using the same video and same tag lines against Topika driving home the connection to her and Ryan. Blagojevich won and now Illinois is the political laughing stock of the country.
Oberweis milk on the other hand, is the best cow juice you will ever have. I hate buying it because all it does is fund another failing campaign, but I just can’t help it. I started buying the milk six years ago before I really knew who Jim Oberwies was. The thing that drew me to it was the glass bottles. No plastic here. All Oberweis milk is sold in glass bottles. I picked one up at the store and fell in love with the stuff. I’m not really a milk drinker, but I was drinking three or four gallons a week.
A year or so ago, Oberwies Dairy opened a store in Bradley, IL. My dad and brother stopped there once and said it was too expensive so I could never get them to go back. J and I were in town and she feels the same way about Oberweis milk as I do, so we went across town to check the store out for ourselves.
The Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy store in front of Lowes in Bradley, IL
Just like the milk, the ice cream is delicious. It just tastes so much richer than most other ice creams. There were a lot of candy pieces in each of our cups, but I would have been just as happy if I were just eating ice cream. I got about halfway through mine and hit a wall. I wanted to keep eating, but my stomach was telling me to stop. I sat there for a few minutes hoping my stomach would give in and let me continue, but it didn’t, so we hoped back in the truck and took the ice cream home. It won’t be soft serve when I get back to eating, but it will still be delicious.
I really didn’t think the price was all that bad. The ice cream was worth it. It may not be an everyday treat, but it is a once in a while treat that is worth the price.
As far as Oberweis Dairy goes, I still think the coolest thing is that they do home delivery. Never in my lifetime has anyone delivered milk to my door. It’s something Oberweis brought back a few years ago and I think it’s a cool idea.
There are a few stores in Michigan in case your wondering. Oberweis has shops in Troy, Novi, and Royal Oak. If you’re in the area, I would suggest giving it a shot. Nothing beats Oberweis milk.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
Oberweis delivered milk to my parents house back in the sixties when I was a kid. I remember the milk box outside the front door where we would put the empties and the milkman would replace them with full bottles of milk with crimped cardboard tops. Haven’t thought of that in years. I enjoy your blog, thanks.