Nothing at all.

At least for the time being, that’s what Margo and Dave Millard want customers to notice different about one of northern Michigan’s most unique and beloved stores after the first ownership change in more than four decades. 

Six months in, it’s mostly business as usual at Enerdyne in Suttons Bay, purveyor of all forms of science and nature items for kids and adults. From the most basic toddler toys and games to high-end optics, the shop has been a fixture in Leelanau County and the greater Grand Traverse region since its founding in 1980 by now retired NMC professor Dick Cookman and his wife Pat.

The Millards, who a few years back bought Barb’s Bakery in Northport (where Dave grew up) were looking to invest in businesses that meant something to the local community after careers in the corporate world. Enerdyne more than fit the bill.

“There’s been so much change here, and some of these new businesses are of course absolutely wonderful,” Margo tells The Ticker. “But a place like Enerdyne, there’s just nothing else like it.”

It wasn’t a random choice. Dave had a “lifelong family connection” to the store, Margo says, with his sister working there and the family regularly stopping in for gifts for decades. During all those years they realized that Enerdyne is more than just a store – it's a community resource that serves to inspire those who shop there to appreciate and care for the natural beauty of Leelanau County and northern Michigan.

“(Dick and Pat) educated so many people. It wasn't just trying to sell toys. They really had a focus on educating every single person who came in that door, and a focus on science and nature and bringing those things into play in everyday life,” she says. “And those lessons really lend themselves to why it’s important to take care of and protect this area we all love.”

It was also a place they realized was important to year-round residents in terms of their sense of community.

“Tradition like that is so important in making a community feel stable, which is sometimes hard in an area that’s so seasonal,” Margo says. “Grandparents bring their grandchildren in because they’ve been coming since their own children were little, (local families) do their Christmas shopping, things like that.”

The Millards first floated the idea of buying Enerdyne back in 2022. A lot of the conversation focused on “the right priorities about what the store does for the community,” Margo says.

“It’s been a very long process, but a very thoughtful and intentional one. Both sides were looking for the right match for the store, and how to continue it with those same pillars of curiosity in science and general STEM focus and things like that,” Margo says.

Dick Cookman tells The Ticker that he’s confident the Millards are the best people to carry on the Enerdyne legacy. Aside from being good friends of the shop and of the Cookmans themselves, he says, they have the right business acumen to keep the store in good shape.

“We looked for years – not just for a little while – and they were really by far and away the best candidates in terms of their backgrounds and in terms of what they said they wanted to do with the store,” he says.

The Millards made a few tweaks to modernize things, Margo says, including a new point of sale system and other “little efficiencies” to help with inventory management and sourcing new items. The Cookmans' staff stayed on, continuing to leverage their “immense, immense experience and wealth of knowledge.” The Millards and the Cookmans still regularly chat, Margo says, which has been tremendously helpful.

“We're hoping to maintain and sustain what it's done for the community. Modernize a few things and maybe streamline a few offerings, make a few little tweaks here and there to make it our own,” Margo says. “But really, we want to keep that strong base that's been built over the past 40 years.”

Though they’ll need a bit more time to get their feet under them, the Millards plan on incorporating speakers, workshops, community science experiments, book signings, kids birthday parties or other activities in an effort to even better meet community needs. They have two young kids themselves, and they are aware that activities for all ages in the northern reaches of Leelanau County are hard to come by at certain times of the year.

“We want to have indoor activities so people don’t have to drive all the way to Traverse City…and work on different ways to be more creative with the space, especially in those winter months,” Margo says.