The Chocolate Maker Who Built a $20 Million Dinosaur Museum | Mark Tarner, South Bend Chocolate Company & Indiana Dinosaur Museum

On today's show I sat down with Mark Tarner, founder of the South Bend Chocolate Company and the Indiana Dinosaur Museum in South Bend.

Tarner grew up in Leesburg, moved to South Bend at 13, and learned candy-making from his father before leaving his dad's business at 28 to build a branded, higher-quality chocolate company. The South Bend Chocolate Company got its start in 1991 beginning with three Notre Dame licensed chocolates called the Domer, the Rockne and Nuts for ND. Three years later it became incorporated and today has 16 company-owned stores in northern Indiana, franchise locations in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, and produces over 500 different chocolates and sweets that are available in stores nationwide.

Tarner also explains how his dinosaur passion began with his daughter, leading to 13 years of fossil work out West and ultimately a museum complex built on 11 land parcels over 10–15 years, including a COVID-era crisis where city support helped keep the vision alive.

If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference, visit getindiana.com/podcast.

You are going to learn about:
- The Founding and Growth of the South Bend Chocolate Company
- How Fossil Work out West Led to the Indiana Dinosaur Museum in South Bend
- How Discipline, Character, Community and Leaps of Faith Intertwine

Thank you to our partners:
NCW
J.C. Hart Company

Check out these great clips from the show:
00:00 Visionary Cold Open
01:16 Guest Introduction: Mark Tarner, South Bend Chocolate Company & Indiana Dinosaur Museum
02:17 Small Town Roots
03:04 Basketball College Path
03:41 Learning Candy Trade
04:46 Notre Dame Licensed Chocolates
06:23 Leaving Dad Starting Brand
09:30 Early Grind No Paycheck
10:53 Entrepreneur Mindset Failure
11:55 First Customers Night Factory
13:11 Never Satisfied Work Life
17:51 First Factory Mall Boom
19:20 Reinvesting In South Bend
20:50 Adapting To Retail Shifts
22:39 Branding Lessons Private Label
23:57 Dinosaur Obsession Begins
25:43 Camp Possible Commitment
27:17 Explorers Club Community
27:29 Midwest Obsession Ethic
28:11 Vision For The Campus
30:41 Risk And Modest Living
31:47 Marriage And Mission
34:00 COVID Crisis City Support
36:32 Reinventing The Museum
38:07 Conviction Over Passion
39:51 Digging Out West
42:13 Discipline And Character
43:41 Legacy And Indiana Pride
45:12 Leap Of Faith Advice
45:51 State Fair Branding Stories
47:02 Chocolate Cherry Taste Test
48:44 Willy Wonka Morality
53:30 Indiana Hidden Gems

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