Bloomington landmark’s future on thin ice after season closer on Nov. 24

For the first time in 25 years, Tim May doesn’t know what the future holds.

May has owned The Chocolate Moose in Bloomington since 1983, serving Spanish burgers and ice cream cones with candy eyes for 12 hours a day ever since. But with money tight and profits on the downfall, the seasonal close last week might be a permanent one.

The outdoor ice cream stand, family owned for more than 25 years, has faced slow sales and increasing costs this year, in addition to mounting debt. Bad weather and failing equipment have also contributed to its downfall. May said he is looking for a new owner to buy the store in hopes that it will re-open again next spring and remain a Bloomington icon.

“There is a point where just being open costs you money,” he said of the seasonal business which is open February through November. “This year the sales were kind of just level.”

Though a line stretched across the parking lot on the shop’s final day of the season on Nov. 24, May said it’s the most business he’s had in weeks. He attributed the increase to news of the stand’s potentially permanent close.

“All these people,” he said, pointing outside to the long line. “Where the hell were all these people the last two weeks?”

Born and raised in Bloomington, the 49-year-old worked in the shop since he was 12, taking it over in 1983 from his father. He changed the name from The Penguin to The Chocolate Moose to give it the sound of a French dessert to have it associated with a cartoon character. Even before it was The Penguin, his grandfather owned the place when it was called May’s Café.

May is now married and has four step-children, all without health insurance. He said he is looking for a more stable job, one where he isn’t on his feet all the time, and one where he can get benefits. With no retirement funds, the idea of closing the small shop has been on May’s mind for the past few years as he approaches 50, he said.

“I’ve got to make sure I’m still viable,” he said. “It’s a good time to think about moving on.”

But May said a new career for him isn’t the sole reason for the store’s close. At best, more money would have kept them open another year, he said. That way, he could “ease out on a good note, instead of falling off.”

Still, May is hopeful for a new owner with some money to keep the place going. He’d like to keep it locally owned by a family person, he said. He said he’s talked to a few people about passing on the store but hasn’t made any decisions.

“I’d hate to see it all fold under,” he said. “You know a lot of customers’ items but you don’t know their names.”

“Save the Chocolate Moose” Facebook groups have popped up during the last week, garnering thousands of members. On the Moose’s final day, May looked down to some crumbled papers someone had printed out for him – they were the comments left on Facebook groups in support of the ice cream stand. The white-and-gray haired man with ice cream toppings splattered on his white shirt then pointed outside to the long line.

“I feel like I’ve done something,” he said. “Touched a lot of people out there.”

On the other hand, the weight of possibly closing a family business after so long has worn on May.

“I kind of feel bad, like I’ve maybe let my family down a bit,” he said. “I feel like I owe Bloomington.”

Amanda Brane, a 27-year-old from Bloomington, has worked at the Moose for nine years and said what she liked most was the local feel of the shop and the regular customers.

“You become in a relationship with them, you know?” she said. “The cherry-coke ladies. It’s been an emotional day.”

Locals like JB Watkins have also been coming to the Chocolate Moose almost as long as it has held its name. He and his wife went there on their first date 18 years ago. Now he stands in line with his 6-year-old son on possibly the store’s final day.

“We’ll miss it if it closes,” he said. “This is the local place that we’ve always come to.”

Others like Joy Laughter of Bloomington have known May for years. Laughter has known him since middle school and calls the store a “piece of Bloomington.”

“I hope he can bring it back, even if he needs to take time off,” she said. “A small place like this and people just crowd around it so much during the summer. It’s a scene.”