HOLLAND, Mich. — For regulars at the Ottawa Beach General Store this year, it's been a summer of endings. The popular spot on the lakeshore plans to tear down and rebuild its decades-old building and deck after Labor Day.
"While I'm sad, because it's a historic icon, I'm excited because it's going to be rebuilt to keep that same character. The facade will be pretty much the same," said store manager Linda Dykert.
In 2010, Dykert stepped behind the General Store's wooden counter, taking charge of the business after new owners bought the building out of foreclosure.
"I'm at an age where I could kick back and retire a little bit. But I've started this," Dykert said. "I'm so attached to the store. I'm also very attached to the employees, and it's fun."
Fun is a fitting word for a store kept cool by the breeze blowing off of Lake Michigan. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the General Store slings ice cream, bakes donuts, and sells candy to sweet-toothed beachgoers and campers at Holland State Park. It's a lakeshore tradition kept by generations.
"We have grandparents who come in here and say, 'I came here with my grandma when I was a child.' Now they're here with their grandchildren," said Dykert, who considers a bike ride to the General Store a "rite of passage" for her children.
For a young Joey Norton, the General Store was the "cool" ice cream parlor with the "24 and more" flavors of soft serve— including his old favorite: strawberry. Now saving up for college, he serves it himself.
"There hasn't been a bad day working here," said the four-year employee. "It's like a family."
But beneath rows of Now & Laters and lakeshore-themed trinkets, rests an old foundation in need of replacing.
The day after Labor Day, the General Store will close for the fall and winter, ahead of a planned demolition later in September.
However, when the weather warms next year, the approximate 2,400 square feet of summer should look "like a recreation" of the old building and deck. The iconic red, white, and blue signs will survive, as will the store's antique counter.
"It's very nostalgic in here, but it could be updated a little bit," Norton said.
While new ice cream and coffee equipment, air conditioning, a walk-in freezer, and additional basement space will modernize the store, the look and layout won't be brand new.
The Brownie Boardwalk Sundae, for example, will stay on the menu, and families can still order their favorites next summer, with beach bags and sunburnt grandchildren lagging behind.
"It's going to feel historical." Dykert said. "I think when we come in, it's going to feel historical."
