Hugo Magnuson

Hugo R. Magnuson was an American businessman and politician. He founded the regional Hugo's grocery store chain. He was the mayor of the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, from 1964 to 1972; he also served as a city council member for seventeen years.

Early life

Hugo Ragnar Magnuson was born in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota. He was one of six children born to Carl Victor Magnuson and Mary Sjobeck Magnuson.

He is best known for the chain of grocery stores which bears his name. He opened his first grocery outlet in Grand Forks in 1939 as a Pure Foods Store. For many years, Magnuson's stores carried the name Piggly Wiggly. That name was dropped in 1984, with the arrival of a new wholesaler, Nash Finch Company. Hugo's stores are located in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

He was married to Dorothy Magnuson, with whom he had four children. The city of Grand Forks declared May 2000 as "Hugo Magnuson Month", in honor of his 100th birthday. Magnuson died three days before his 103rd birthday in 2003. He was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Forks, North Dakota.