Hoffmann's Midwest buying spree continues with cruise company purchase

Just days after announcing it had won an auction to buy a Chicago area dairy, The Hoffmann Family of Cos. says it has bought a cruise company in Michigan.

Naples-based Hoffmann’s new business is the Sip n’ Sail Cruises, a company that offers trips and private charters around Mackinac Island.

According to Sip n’ Sail’s website, it operates two ships — the 81-foot Isle Royale Queen III and the 55-foot Robin E. Its offerings include beer and mimosa cruises as well as weddings and other events.

With the purchase, Hoffman’s marine portfolio now includes 22 ships in seven states.

Mackinac Island is in Lake Huron which sits between the state’s upper and lower peninsulas.

Terms of deal were not disclosed and a Hoffmann spokesperson says the company would not share a sales price.

The purchase of the Sip n’ Sail comes three days after Hoffmann won a bankruptcy auction to buy Oberweis Dairy, a 97-year-old company that operates a dairy home delivery service across parts of the Midwest and Texas, a chain of corporate- and franchise-owned dairy and ice cream stores in the Chicago area, a distribution service to regional supermarkets and high-end fast-food hamburger restaurants named the Burger Joint.

The purchase of Oberweis, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, still needs to be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case in Illinois.

The Hoffmann Family of Cos. first came to Naples in 2015 when it bought a $75 million portfolio that included seven properties and a parking lot.

Today, it owns more than 100 national brands and employs 9,000 employees with businesses located in 30 countries.