Leelanau County is unique in the State of Michigan.
And the lack of fast-food restaurants and chain stores is part of the county’s charm.
It’s a point of pride for many. But that doesn’t stop outsiders from trying to set up shop.
Dollar General proposes to build a store at the corner of South Maple City and Cemetery roads in Cleveland Township.
The Cleveland Township Planning Commission has set at Feb. 5 site plan review for Dollar General, which has stores in all 82 other Michigan counties.
Leelanau has been the lone holdout. But we’ve seen this before. An application to build a Dollar General in Maple City was withdrawn due to public opposition in 2019. The proposed location is just a few miles north of the Maple City site, which is now occupied by Habitat for Humanity homes.
Later that same year, Empire Village filibustered a proposed store location on M-22 with a six-month moratorium on all zoning requests.
The proposal threatens the very fabric of the community and everything we are so proud of.
People don’t come here for mega stores. And they won’t find fast-food drive-thru restaurants.
What attracts people to Leelanau is the natural beauty and the locally-owned stores and restaurants and communities that care about their neighbors trying to make a go of it on our pleasant peninsula.
Oh, there was once a McDonalds in Greilickville, but it was short-lived.
Guess the county’s only fast-food restaurant didn’t get the business they anticipated.
Dollar General stores offer low priced goods, which could make it attractive to some.
But at what cost? Money spent there will not stay in the community. Small businesses feed our communities. They keep our main streets thriving and employ nearly half of the American workforce. Supporting small, local businesses means you’re supporting your local economy, local business, tax base, schools, and infrastructure.
Let’s stay true to ourselves and support our local businesses rather than allow an out-of-state business to take money out of the community.
