Elected officials and government employees aren’t the only ones gearing up for a move of the county seat from Leland to Suttons Bay Township early next year.

Karl Peckstein Jr. hopes the new location
for the county seat will help business at the
M-204 Country Store.

Local businesses from Leland through Lake Leelanau to Suttons Bay are also anticipating the move.

“The effect on my business could be tremendous,” said Karl Peckstein Jr., proprietor of the M-204 Country Store – a small business closer to the new Leelanau County Government Center than any other business in the county.

Around the end of February, county officials expect to vacate the courthouse and other buildings in Leland and relocate the county seat to its new site north of M-204 between Horn and Sylt roads. The county’s Law Enforcement Center has been in operation at the site since 2005.

“As it is now, we have a few police officers and jail guards who stop by occasionally,” Peckstein said, “but the traffic hasn’t been steady enough for us to open much before 10 a.m. I think that once the new courthouse is finished we’ll need to open earlier in the morning for people on their way to work who want to buy some coffee or the newspaper or whatever.

And then we’ll need to think about lunch.”

By the end of February, the daily workplace for about 70 government employees is expected to shift from a collection of buildings in Leland to the new Government Center.

Approximately 10 more people are currently working at any one time at the adjacent Law Enforcement Center.

The M-204 County Store already sells hot dogs, a variety of soups and other lunch items. But Peckstein said he expects to expand his offerings – and may need to hire additional help at the store if business picks up as hoped.

Slightly further east on M-204, Linda Mikowski of the Covered Wagon Farm Market and Bakery also sees a busier future on her horizon.

“I’m sure the move will impact us in a positive way,” said Mikowski. “We’ll be less than a mile away from the county seat; and I may need to look for more help so we can offer lunches.”

The Covered Wagon already offers a variety of baked goods, produce and beverages – not to mention Christmas trees, which are going fast this time of year.

Even farther west down M-204, business owners in the Village of Suttons Bay also expect to see an uptick.

The owner of the Silvertree Deli, Bruce Vaughn, said he has already been in touch with county officials to suggest county employees order lunches online – and then Silvertree would deliver the lunches at a single time and to a single place in the new Government Center.

“We lost a huge lunch client when OneUpWeb moved down to Greilickville from their building on M-204,” said Vaughn. “Frankly, I can’t wait for the new Government Center to open so business will start picking up again.”

Currently, some county workers drive into Lake Leelanau for lunch. The new Government Center is roughly the same distance from Lake Leelanau as the courthouse in Leland – so chances are that business in Lake Leelanau will remain steady with the move of the county seat to Suttons Bay Township.

However, the most negative economic impact will be in Leland itself.

“There’s no question that the move of the county seat is going to hurt Leland economically,” said Leland restaurateur Skip Telgard. “Right now, the Bluebird isn’t usually open for lunch, but the Earlybird is; and that’s where the effect will be felt most,” he said.

“There will be a general downturn overall for business in Leland,” Telgard added, “I imagine we could see a lot less traffic at the (Leland Mercantile) and at Van’s (garage). But we’re all hoping for the best, of course.”

Karl Peckstein of the M-204 Country Store said he’s hoping for the best, too. Within the next couple of months – if all the bank paperwork goes through – Peckstein hopes to take ownership of the store from its current owner, Varley-Kelly Properties.

Varley-Kelly Properties, coincidentally, has inked a deal with Leelanau County to purchase the old courthouse property in Leland for $2.4 million and redevelop it as a residential neighborhood.