Name has changed from Palublicki's to Hugo's in Fosston

By Kim Spaeth-Hedlund, Editor, McIntosh Times

 Change is in the air in Fosston. Starting Thursday, December 29th, Palubicki’s Family Market will change hands and become Hugo’s Family Marketplace.

The community first shopped Palubicki’s in 1975 when Jim and Nina Palubicki moved to Fosston and bought the grocery store, which they called Palubicki’s Red Owl. The store had about 5 aisles when the couple, with there 4 daughters, took over. Jim and Nina expanded the store twice with the last major addition in 1989 bringing the store building to about 18,000 square feet.

In 2006, the Palubicki's third daughter, Leah, bought the store and entered the fuel business as well, with Palubicki’s Express in 2012. In 2016, Palubicki’s Family Market and Spirits opened, bringing the size of the grocery store to 48,000 square feet, and adding a pharmacy, a Caribou Coffee location, a liquor store as well as rented store space to The Red Poppy, a florist, home decor and gift shop owned by Leah’s’ youngest sister Meghan.

Leah, graduated from Fosston High School in 1996, went on to earn a International Business degree and traveled across the world for work before coming home in 2004 to begin her journey in the grocery business. She has no solid plans for the future except to do some traveling and spend more time with her family. She, along with her parents, plan to continue to make Fosston their homebase. 

“Thank you to Palubicki’s employees and customers for making the store a success without the community support I would have not been able to open such a nice grocery store experience in our community,” Leah said, as Hugo’s takes the helm in Fosston.

Kristi Magnuson Nelson, president/CEO of Hugo’s stated, “We are excited to purchase this store and become members of the Fosston community. Leah and her family have built an impressive company rooted in family values, which makes this new addition to our family of supermarkets so special. We are committed to maintaining the great tradition, quality and service that the Palubicki family has built.”

Hugo’s will retain all of Palubicki’s management team and employees who currently work at the store. 

Founded by Hugo and Dorothy Magnuson in 1939, Hugo’s was operated by Curt Magnuson until his death in 2007; Nelson, his daughter, then succeeded him. With the addition of the Fosston store, the grocer will operate 12 supermarkets, seven liquor stores, two pubs, four pharmacies and nine Caribou Coffee shops throughout North Dakota and Minnesota. The former Palubicki’s Express will be the company’s first gas station.