Sue and Dan Fenlon of St. Ignace are the new owners of the Brevoort Lake Camp Store. The Fenlons are providing locals and campers with small necessities, boat rental, and free boat launching. They plan to add more this summer, possibly including a drive-through ice cream parlor. In the Hiawatha National Forest on Brevoort Lake lies Sue and Dan Fenlon’s Brevoort Lake Camp Store, a business that has stood since at least the 1940s and which they hope to revitalize.

Nestled under the towering white pines on the western sandy shore of Brevoort Lake in Boedne Bay, the Camp Store, a small log cabin, has, for the past few decades, provided campers and local residents with the small necessities of living, such as fishing and recreational equipment, bait, ice, snacks, and dairy and meat products.

When the St. Ignace couple purchased the business last fall, their first order of business was to re-establish a good relationship between the store, local residents, and campers, adjusting daily hours, and stocking items in high demand. The Camp Store opened May 15 and is open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. until September.

The Camp Store is in the Forest Service Brevoort Lake Campground on Brevoort Camp Road. The Hiawatha Forest spans 500,000 acres on the east side of St. Ignace, and has two camp grounds near St. Ignace, Brevoort Lake, which has 70 camp sites, and Lake Michigan, which has 35 sites.

The Fenlons plan to expand the store to include a drive-through ice cream parlor as soon as they can find an ice cream display freezer, said Mr. Fenlon. They also plan to expand the picnic area on their one acre of land, provide Internet access for visitors, and perhaps install a small deli for fresh cold cuts and sandwiches.

They offer 11 rental paddle boats, and Mr. Fenlon said people can launch their boats at the Camp Store free. Those who launch at Forest Service boat launches are charged $5, a policy that started June 8.

Business for the summer has already begun picking up with the arrival of warmer weather and campers.

“We’ve gotten a ton of support from the people of Brevort area already,” said Mr. Fenlon.

“The residents are starting to come here now instead of driving all the way into town to just buy milk, for example,” said Mrs. Fenlon. “People are realizing that we’ll be open much of every day for the entire summer. A five-minute boat ride beats a 15-minute drive into town.”

The Fenlons are interested in being a part of Mackinac County Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) idea to create a community kitchen incubator program, which local businesses can use to make and label food products such as cheese, jerky, and jellies. The Fenlons are interested in making pasties and fudge for the Camp Store. The EDC is now seeking a suitable facility for such a program.

Mr. Fenlon is a former Department of Transportation employee, while Mrs. Fenlon is a clerk at the Mackinac County Friend of the Court. They are both graduates of LaSalle High School in St. Ignace, she in 1979, he in 1976.

The Camp Store was just what the couple was looking for.

“We always knew about it and we’ve always liked it,” said Mr. Fenlon. “Our neighbor, Jim Lovegrove, ran the store in the 1940s. We like the people that come in, and we love the area.”