Dreams come true for Moose’s newest owner

Since 1933, a small brown building adorned with a lighted moose head has drawn Bloomington crowds for homemade ice cream served through a window.

The Chocolate Moose attracts lines of customers every year, and seeing Bloomington residents lined up for hand-dipped or soft-serve ice cream any night of the week is to be expected.

Bloomington native Jeff Grossnickle loved The Chocolate Moose as a child and worked there as a teenager.

He said working at The Chocolate Moose was literally a dream.

“When I was working there, I would dream that the owner would ask for me to take care of the ice cream machines for him in the winters, and in my dream I’d be serving all my friends Chocolate Moose ice cream in my basement,” said Grossnickle. “I had that dream a couple times a year.”

Today, Grossnickle is the one looking after the ice cream machines – but as the new owner of the historical establishment.

Last summer, Grossnickle went for his last taste of Chocolate Moose ice cream for the season and found out it would be the last season if someone didn’t buy the store.

“I was walking away and told the owner ‘See ya next year,’ then he said, ‘No, we won’t be opening next year, this is it,’” said Grossnickle. “I went home and talked to my family, and then we decided to buy it.”

Grossnickle, a full-time insurance agent, and Joanie Grossnickle, a full-time nurse and jewelry maker on the side, kept their full-time jobs while working at The Chocolate Moose at night.

Grossnickle said the experience of taking on a business was a whirlwind for him and his family, but despite the steep learning curve, he never regrets his decision.

“This year has been so rewarding. I’ve learned a lot, met a lot of people, and people always have a story about Chocolate Moose, whether it was their first date or where they went with their grandpa,” he said. “There’s something that makes people feel connected to it, and that’s the most rewarding thing – to be a part of something bigger than you.”

Grossnickle said it’s not just the tie Chocolate Moose has with the Bloomington community – there’s a connection with the employees who work there.

Tyler Reeves, a Bloomington native, said a perk of working at The Chocolate Moose is being able to eat his favorite treat: the hot fudge shake.

Recent IU graduate Ariel Jacobi has been working at The Chocolate Moose for two years and said the employees’ bonds make her shifts seem more like hanging out with friends than work.

“It’s not so serious as some jobs can be. It’s a relaxed and fun atmosphere,” Jacobi said. “We are a small group, so it makes us a really tight-knit group.”

Grossnickle said the group’s strong working relationships weren’t taken for granted during challenging times.

“We have really become a family. We’ve gone through a new transition, and we went through a tragedy losing one of our longest employees,” Grossnickle said.

Kay Rhodes, a Chocolate Moose employee for 50 years, died of complications from a car accident last spring.

“It was a horrible tragedy and had such a unifying effect on all of us,” Grossnickle said.
After owning The Chocolate Moose for almost a year, Grossnickle said he’s never looked back and sees the importance of keeping it open even more now.

“Although I dreamt about The Chocolate Moose growing up, it wasn’t always a dream of mine to own it,” Grossnickle said. “But when I see kids’ faces light up, I turn to my wife and say, ‘Right there is why I’m here.’”