No bones about it: Holcomb, Mueller support future Indiana Dinosaur Museum

SOUTH BEND — Earl the Alligator upstaged Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb at a news conference Friday celebrating progress on the construction of the Indiana Dinosaur Museum.

The small alligator, a future resident of the museum's grounds, got his picture taken with the governor, who quipped that he hoped the alligator boots he was wearing weren't made from one of Earl's relatives.

The dinosaur museum is the long-dreamt-of passion project of Mark Tarner, the founder and owner of the South Bend Chocolate Co. It has been made possible by more than $4 million in investment from the City of South Bend and an expected total of more than $15 million of Tarner's own money.

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Friday morning, at South Bend International Airport, Tarner held a news conference to mark the construction progress on the museum. In addition to Earl, news conference guests included many local and state government and community leaders.

Human guests received a unique gift that combines Tarner's two passions: A chocolate dinosaur.

"I'm going to try to be the best small dinosaur museum in the country …," Tarner told the crowd. "We're going to have skeletons of 40-million-year-old dinosaurs, but we're also … bringing 40 million years of evolution to life" by serving as a home for animals like Earl.

Tarner calls the project a "zoo-seum" ― a clever combination of "zoo" and "museum" ― and said he thinks it will have a "tremendous impact" on the South Bend area.

For Tarner, dinosaurs are a strong personal interest. He not only founded the South Bend Chocolate Co. in 1991 but is also an amateur paleontologist. During his free time, he enjoys digging for dinosaur bones at a private site in Montana where he began digging with his son and daughter more than 20 years ago when they were young children.

"We fell in love with the West, and it's simply this, I kept collecting fossils and finding dinosaurs …," Tarner said. "It's been a tremendous passion." This year, he said, he even found a dinosaur skull.

Many of Tarner's prehistoric findings will be on display at the new, 18,000-square-foot museum.

In addition to the museum, the 50-acre site will house a chocolate museum, a restaurant and a new South Bend Chocolate Co. factory, which visitors will be able to tour. The museum and factory, which will be located at the southwest corner of U.S. 31 and U.S. 20, are expected to create nearly 150 full-time jobs and attract about 150,000 visitors annually.

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At the news conference, Holcomb and South Bend Mayor James Mueller made no bones about showing their support for the dinosaur museum.

"I first want to quote one of the all-time great philosophers, our very own Indiana Jones, who once said, 'To be a good archaeologist, you gotta get out of the library,'" Holcomb said.

He then addressed Tarner. "I can only imagine the countless research hours that were put into this, the expenses that all went into it, all the time away," the governor continued. "But thankfully, you did get out of the library, and you got out into the field and made some obviously incredible discoveries. Then, for us, you found a way to bring them back home (to allow) hundreds of thousands of visitors to rediscover the past as well."

Holcomb praised Tarner for reinvesting in the community and congratulated Mueller on the museum's progress.

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"Mayor, thank you, and congratulations on yet another dynamic announcement," Holcomb said. "This is a big deal, and this region is really rocking. You've got a lot to offer. … Think about a recipe for success, you've got all the ingredients. You've got, obviously, an incredible business community that continues to give back."

The mayor ― who said the museum was one of the first projects on his desk when he was working under then-Mayor Pete Buttigieg in 2017 ― said he is "very excited" to see the museum close to completion after so many years.

"When you hear about a site that has chocolate, dinosaurs, bison, sledding hills … a 'zoo-seum,' someone might think, 'That's just crazy, …..'" Mueller said. "But it's coming together, and there are even bigger things in store for this part of South Bend and the county, and we're privileged that Mark is setting the beachhead for even more opportunities into the future."

Congressman Rudy Yakym was unable to attend the news conference but sent Griffin Nate to read a statement on his behalf.

"This attraction doesn't just mean more jobs and tourists, it will also serve as a tremendous hands-on learning experience right here in our own backyard," Nate read from Yakym's statement. "What will set this museum apart is the interactive nature of it. Soon, children will be able to come to the Indiana Dinosaur Museum and learn in a way that is both engaging and that captures their imagination."

Setbacks and successes

The long road to the museum's opening began in 2017 when the South Bend Redevelopment Commission gave Tarner the land under an agreement that, within five years, he would invest at least $5 million in the site. According to an earlier Tribune report, Tarner received $1.4 million from the City of South Bend to make infrastructure improvements at the site.

But the project has not been without setbacks.

In March 2021, Tarner said he'd been just days away hiring a general contractor to break ground on the museum when COVID-19-related construction delays prevented him from receiving $500,000 in Indiana Regional Cities money toward the project.

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A dramatic drop in South Bend Chocolate Co. revenue during the pandemic was the biggest factor in the project's delay, and Tarner questioned whether the project would go forward at all.

"It was very traumatic for us," Tarner recalled at the news conference. "Our sales dropped 97% in 96 hours when the governor shut the state down."

But, unlike the dinosaurs, Tarner's project did not ultimately go extinct. Eight months later, in November 2021, he received about $1.76 million in forgivable federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Then, in November 2022, the South Bend Common Council granted $2.7 million to Tarner to subsidize the construction of the museum and factory. However, the agreement states that the museum and factory must open by June 30, 2024, or Tarner could be forced to return all or a portion of the city's $4.1 million total investment. Construction began at the site in May 2022.

In November, The Tribune reported that Tarner expects to invest $15.4 million of his own money in the project.

"There were a lot of hurdles," Mayor Mueller said. "Of course, the pandemic came and really, really hit Mark's business. … He went through some dark days and persevered, and we're proud of him for that."

Email Tribune staff writer Clarie Reid at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana governor, South Bend mayor praise Indiana Dinosaur Museum