Giles Restaurant grew from the Giles BBQ opened in Petoskey in 1929 by Enoch Giles Sr. into a well-known local gathering place after Enoch Giles Jr. bought it in 1946 upon returning from service in World War II. Its menu expanded from barbecue to full-course meals featuring famous soups, pies, and daily specials, with local farmers and fishermen supplying homegrown produce and fresh catch from Little Traverse Bay. The restaurant drew blue-collar workers, Main Street entrepreneurs, and summer tourists, while the back table became a regular setting for lively, congenial debate over local issues, politics, religion, and hometown sports. Enoch Jr.'s wife, Mary, their six children, his brother Bill, and a loyal staff all played important roles in its success, which Enoch credited to everyone from dishwashers and kitchen crew to smiling waitresses and Mary Ford's homemade breads and specialty cakes. The restaurant closed in 1972 when Enoch sold it to Ray and Martha Bay, after which it became Bays Restaurant; the building later housed BillyD's Pizza in 1991, St. Joseph's Religious Store in 1999, Collins and Associates in 2012, and Simply Sweet in 2016.