Moo & Oink was a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

-based meat company and

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

. The company was founded by Joe Lezak, whose family had a long history of selling meat products in Chicago. Its original location was at the corner of 35th and Calumet Avenue on Chicago's South Side. Moo & Oink sold a variety of meats including pork, chicken, beef, and lamb. The company specialized in selling to

soul food Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. Originating in the Southern United States, American South from the cuisines of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans transported from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, sou ...

restaurants and BBQs. In the 1960s, the company moved to a larger location at 3831 S. Halsted Avenue in

Bridgeport, Chicago Bridgeport is one of the 77 community areas in Chicago, on the city's South Side (Chicago), South Side, bounded on the north by the Chicago River#South Branch, South Branch of the Chicago River, on the west by Ashland Avenue, on the south by P ...

. Moo & Oink was well known for its promotional events and local advertisement campaigns. Its late-night

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s played through the late 1970s into the 21st century. The company's mascots Moo (a cow) and Oink (a pig) were prominently featured in a long-running series of commercials featuring a boisterous rap by Pierre B. Johnson that debuted in 1982. In 2005,

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

and

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

sang the opening verse of the jingle on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

in order to prove to

Scott Podsednik Scott Eric Podsednik (; born March 18, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Best known for his baserunning, Podsednik led the major leagues in stolen bases in with 70, in times caught stea ...

that they were

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

fans. The company expanded in the 1980s to included branded products. These products were discontinued after a change in Moo and Oink management in October 2006. In April 2010, the remaining owners revealed a new company logo with updated art of the cow and pig characters. All Moo & Oink stores closed in 2011, after the company went into

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

. By the end of the year, the brand and trademark were sold to Best Chicago Meat. The stores remained unsold.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moo and Oink Defunct companies based in Chicago Cuisine of Chicago Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

See also

References

External links