Gas City Owner Looks To Sell Creamery Ice Cream Chain To Son

Kids love to beg their parents for ice cream. But William A. McEnery, whose father owns a chain of gas stations and ice cream parlors, is taking that a step further. He’s offering to buy the ice cream parlors for nearly $3 million out of the bankruptcy of his father’s company.

William J. McEnery’s eponymous trust, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last October, owns the Gas City chain of gas stations and truck stops in Illinois, Indiana, Florida and Arizona. The trust also owns the Illinois-based Creamery chain of seven ice-cream stores that’s home to the Rainbow Cone, stacked with five colorful scoops of ice cream.

With the Gas City assets slated to go on the auction block today, McEnery is turning his attention to the Creamery chain. While the trust’s bankruptcy attorneys said in court papers that they haven’t actively sought buyers, a number of parties have expressed interest in acquiring the purveyor of soft-serve ice cream cones, sundaes and milk shakes. Attorneys said the best bid received to date comes from none other than McEnery’s son, but they’re seeking to test his $2.975 million offer at auction to make sure they can get the best possible price.

Under the proposed auction rules the trust’s attorneys filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago on Tuesday, rival bids must come in by March 25 ahead of a March 28 auction. They want the court to consider approving the winning bid at a sale hearing following the auction or the next day.

“In order to maximize value and ensure a successful result in these Chapter 11 cases, a prompt and orderly sale of the Creamery assets must take place,” attorneys wrote.

Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff must first approve the auction rules, and attorneys are asking him to do so at a March 8 hearing.