SOUTH BEND ― Potawatomi Zoo has taken a big step in extending its season with the opening of its new concession lodge and Andean bear exhibit.
The Lodge will be ready for visitors as the zoo officially opens for the season at 10 a.m. Friday, but the Andean bear won't be moved into his new habitat next door until the grass in the new space has time to take root ― probably a couple of months down the road.
The Lodge is a significant upgrade for the zoo because it provides indoor and outdoor space for visitors to enjoy a drink or a bite to eat. For years, the zoo has only had an outdoor concession area near the education center.
The outdoor concession space also will remain open to help serve the growing number of people the zoo has been attracting in recent years as new exhibits — such as giraffes and lions ― have been added.
“The new concession lodge is aimed at improving the overall experience for our guests,” said Josh Sisk, the zoo’s executive director, pointing out that the new café will reduce lines on the busiest days at the zoo.
With a large fireplace inside and another outside on the expansive patio, The Lodge will also give visitors a place to warm up early and late in the season when the weather is chilly or during special events, such as Zoo Boo, Gift of Lights and Winter Days.
When it’s nice outside, garage-door style walls can be opened to let the sights, sounds and fresh air into the building.
Just as importantly, the new facility will give the zoo the opportunity to upgrade food, snacks and beverage options for visitors because concessions will now be overseen by food service-provider Canteen, rather than getting handled in-house.
Sisk said the zoo has become increasingly popular as a place to host corporate and family events, so The Lodge will give it another location that can be used for events during the winter when the zoo is closed.
The Lodge includes a massive new kitchen that can produce high-end meals that might be required for meetings and special events that might be held at one of several venues that the zoo has set aside for such uses.
The building, which contains lots of wood, stone and other natural materials, also will provide visitors with a close-up view of the new Andean black bear exhibit, which, Sisk says, will eventually include a female partner for Muniri, who arrived last summer.
In all, the project cost about $6 million and was paid for by money the zoo receives from the hotel-motel tax and from a state grant through the READI program.
Despite the enormous upgrade and the ability to prepare more upscale meals for special events, prices at the concession lodge have still not broken the $10 mark.
Snacks and appetizers ― such as chicken tenders, nachos and cheese curds, for example ― top out at $8, while small pizzas, burgers and sandwiches are priced around $9.
The concessions, Sisk said, are a convenience, not a profit center.
“We have to focus on amenities so that people keep coming back to the zoo,” he said. That takes a continuous focus on improvements.
Except for the pandemic, the public has been rewarding the zoo’s efforts with increased attendance. In 2023, it set another record by attracting 355,000 visitors, 18,000 more than the previous year.
And Sisk believes annual attendance of 500,000 is a real possibility with work on modern habitats for its big cats ready to get underway this year with a projected opening slated for early 2025.
Zoo hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the start of the season. But from June 1 to Aug. 31, the zoo will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The season is scheduled to end Nov. 24.
Regular admission is $14 for adults, $12 for ages 3-14 and seniors, and free for children 2 and younger. Potawatomi Zoological Society members are admitted free of charge during regular hours and extended summer hours.
Email Tribune staff writer Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com .
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Potawatomi Zoo opens March 29 with new concession lodge and Andean bear exhibit
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