The first grocery store in Peebles was a one room school house from the Hackleshin area that was moved to the corner of Main and Sugar Streets in the mid 1890's by J. W. Davis. The building was later moved about a half block south when the location was purchased by H. B. Gaffin, Jr. He used the vacated site to construct a two story brick building that featured cast iron storefront components from the George L. Mesker & Company of Evansville, Indiana. The building was completed in 1903 and opened as a grocery and general store.

Gaffin also operated several other very successful businesses throughout Adams County and became a main stockholder in the Peebles Bank. However, he lost most of his fortune in the banking crisis of the 1930's, and in 1934, was forced to sell most of his assets, including the downtown store, to pay his debts.

William Harvey and Banna Foster bought the business and by 1952 had passed it to their daughter, Mabel Foster Palmer. Other storekeepers over the years included the Wallingford and Hibbits families. The latter operated the grocery as a Super E Market, a franchise of the Eavey's (A-vee) Independent Food Chain.

Following a court ordered Sheriff's sale in 1959 to satisfy debts, Arthur J. and Betty Miller bought the store and became part of 131 Super E retail food outlets in western Ohio. The Millers went along with a name change in 1963 when the Eavey company sold and was taken over by Super Valu. James and Lee Stone purchased the property in 1972 and operated the store as the Little Food Giant.

Vayne McCoy later purchased the property and after extensive remodeling, opened McCoy's Family Restaurant.

The interior was renovated using 25 different species of hardwood. A unique second floor crow's nest built into one corner served as the business office.

Diners could look over a variety of local artifacts on display, including the world's largest and world's smallest hornets' nests. They could also pick up their very own copy of a newspaper commemorating the famous Hatfield and McCoy Feud. The restaurant quickly became a favorite dining establishment. The upper floor of the building was used as apartment residences, as it had been for many years.

After several years, new owners changed the name to Danna's Country Kitchen and it remained a popular establishment. But on the evening of Saturday, April 20, 1996, the Gaffin Building suffered a disastrous event. The lone tenant of the upstairs apartments, Don Hill, contacted the Peebles Fire department to report seeing smoke rising from his sink drain and to relay that the building was on fire. As the local firefighters responded, area departments were called to assist, especially those with aerial ladder trucks and tankers. Those who responded included: Rarden, Otway, Union and Morgan Townships in Scioto County; Hillsboro, Mowrystown and Brushcreek Township in Highland County; Decatur, Sardinia, and Mount Orab in Brown County; Waverly and Piketon from Pike County; Winchester, Seaman, Franklin Township, Wayne Township and Jefferson Township in Adams County.

The fire quickly grew in strength and at one point water was being used at the rate of 20,000 gallons a minute. The town's water system was put under tremendous strain.

A total of seventeen tanker trucks were used to bring in additional water from the Locust Grove cistern and Plum Run Stone ponds. One hundred fifty firefighters worked to extinguish the inferno and save the adjoining structures. Additional hazards included overhead power lines, falling wreckage and a massive amount of live ammunition that was stored in the building. One newspaper report said the sound of gunfire was heard continuously for 55 minutes.

The glow in the night sky could be seen from several miles away. A few hundred townspeople and country neighbors joined together to witness the major spectacle and to say good-bye to one of the more notable buildings in the central district of downtown Peebles. The fire was finally considered extinguished around 10:30 Sunday morning. The loss was estimated at $400,000 and included extensive structural damage to the White Star Restaurant next door. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.