Having been in business since the 1950s, the "Pickerel Lake Trading Post" has been a staple in the Petoskey community for many years. Kevin and Michelle Nichols purchased the store in 1998 and have ran it as "The Party Shoppe" ever since. 

As many people know, July 14th, 2025 was a very dark day, when long time owner, husband, and father Kevin passed away at only 63 years old. As the years have gone on and big business has been in increasing demand, running a small country store like the Party Shoppe has been increasingly difficult. Like any store, items like beer, wine, bread, groceries, milk, chips, etc. are delivered by distribution companies for resale in the store. However, as years have passed, getting these things has been getting harder and harder for a small business like ours. The distribution companies started to phase us out and decided to stop delivering to us because we were "too small". Other companies that didn't fully stop delivering to us made a deal that they would only "go out of their way" to deliver if we spent a certain amount of money on that delivery, typically a couple thousand dollars... this meant no more chips, no more bread, no more milk, no more pop. 

As any business that cares for their community, Kevin and Michelle went out of their way to keep the shelved stocked. They started relying more and more on Walmart to keep the shelves full. Before grocery delivery and pickup became popular, Kevin would physically make the trip to Walmart 3-5 times per week to make sure the shelves stayed full, all in an effort to save our neighbors a trip to town. 

As Kevin's health declined, Michelle stepped up to the plate with running the business. What many people may not understand is that Michelle has a Master's Degree and her own full-time job. Since Kevin has been ill and subsequently passed, she has been working her job and continuing to run the store. With my brother and I both living out of state, this is more than one person can handle. 

Instead of boring you with more and more detailed explanations, I think it is time that we take a rest, hang our hats, and enjoy the legacy that the Party Shoppe has lived in serving the Pickerel Lake community. We are sorry that we could not continue to serve this area, but we cherish the memories and the support we have had over the years. 

-Maxx Nichols