The City of Petoskey was named after Ignatius Petoskey. At this site, the earliest commercial building was a dry goods and grocery store operated by Brazile Petoskey, who is pictured with his father and brother Mitchell Petoskey. At the turn of the century, this Petoskey Street location was part of a bustling shopping district known as the Midway that extended to the waterfront. The site later housed uses such as an ice cream shop before Carl and Ruth Shorter opened a souvenir shop here in 1946. In 1996, William and Marietta Shorter restored the historic charm of the Grandpa Shorter's building.