Van Peenen's Closes After 83 Years

The 83-year-old Van Peenen’s Dairy on Valley Road has closed.

The family-owned business was forced to shut down operations on Tuesday.

The 2-acre property, normally buzzing with activity and the coming and going of delivery trucks, has been eerily quite since then.

A woman who answered the phone Wednesday evening said, “There’s nobody here anymore. Everybody’s gone. The bank forced us to close.” The woman would not give her name and declined further comment.

Leonard Singer, the company’s attorney, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The third-generation business has been marred in financial trouble of late.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. That filing came 14 months after a federal court awarded a $767,000 judgment, plus interest and other costs, against the Van Peenen brothers who own the company.

Van Peenen Property, LLC, listed on township tax files as owning the property, owes the town nearly $64,000 in taxes, including more than $8,200 in interest and nearly $2,300 in penalties.

Marinus Van Peenen and his wife Gerturude founded in the company as a home delivery milk service in 1929.

“I could remember like it was yesterday that their trucks could be seen not just in Wayne but outside the township too,” said Councilman Joseph Schweighardt. “It’s sad to see them go. A great business and a great family runs it."

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