During the great depression of 1928/1929, a young electrician’s apprentice found himself without money and in need of a job. That’s when Howard Peterson first went into the grocery business, working for Red Owl Food Stores in various locations throughout Minnesota. Soon, tired of moving and aware of his retail abilities, he decided to work for himself, thus the original Peterson Grocery Store opened in downtown Alexandria, in 1938.
In 1953, the store's location moved to 1311 S. Broadway where it operated for 18 years until 1971, when the business was moved to Viking Plaza Shopping Center. Howard Peterson died in February 1961, whereby Bud Peterson became primary owner and actively managed the business. Active management of the Alexandria location was assumed in 1981 by Bud's two sons, Neil and Bruce Peterson. Neil Peterson remains as general manager, with Bud being the primary owner and president.

In 1986, the Alexandria store changed it's location to the current 2612 S. Broadway in the Midway Mall and changed it's franchise name to County Market.

When Howard Peterson (known to the community as Super Pete), first opened his grocery store, we wonder how far into the future he was looking? What would he think of Alexandria and the area today? Alexandria continues to be a progressive community and the spirit of fellowship and sense of community is still strong. As an independent grocery store, we continue to work by the values that came from that very first store. We offer our ever expanding community great personalized service, the largest variety of products in the area, and the personality that only an independent grocer can offer. The Peterson Family’s commitment to you, our customer, includes being open 24 hours, 7 days a week for your convenience, supporting community betterment projects through funding as well as personal participation, and by listening when you have a care or concern. Although we don’t know how Howard Peterson would feel today, we do know our success is a shared one, shared by our employees, their families, and you, and your families.