Chicago’s famous Blommer Chocolate company considers sale

The owners of Blommer, the iconic Chicago chocolate producer that often wafts its sweet scent through the Loop, are reportedly exploring options to cash out. Such a sale could see the three-generation family-owned business fetch as much as $500 million, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.

Founded in 1939, the independent business claims to be the largest cocoa bean processor in North America and supplies numerous name brand manufacturers. The company is already attracting interest from “one European strategic acquirer and private equity firms,” an unnamed source familiar with the deal told Bloomberg.

It’s too early to speculate how a sale might impact Blommer’s existing 270,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Chicago’s Fulton River District. The site at 600 W. Kinzie Street is certainly spacious enough to support a large redevelopment project should a new owner choose to move production elsewhere. The immediate area is already home to a Jewel grocery store and several apartment towers known collectively as K Station.

In November, equipment on the roof of Blommer’s fragrant downtown factory caught fire. The blaze was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported and chocolate-making resumed shortly thereafter.

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• Blommer Family Is Said to Consider Sale of Chocolate Maker [Bloomberg]
• Some smell a sale at Blommer Chocolate: Reports say family-owned firm mulling options [Chicago Tribune]
• Iconic Blommer Chocolate in River West reportedly up for sale [Chicago Sun-Times]