FAMILY BUSINESS — From left, family employee Patricia Pesta and owner Rebecca Pesta posed outside Pesta’s County Store, the oldest grocery store in Mingo Junction, having been established in 1925. -- Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — Signs adorned with floral decorations and advertising Pesta’s County Store point the way toward a staple of the Mingo Junction community that has withstood the test of time.

Pesta’s County Store, located at 300 Standard Ave., is one of the few remaining corner stores in a nation dominated by big-box retail establishments. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., selling fresh meats, party trays, home-baked pies and cookies and other groceries.

Rebecca “Becky” Pesta is the current owner and third-generation descendant of Pesta’s founder, her grandfather, Andrew Pesta. She works alongside her sister-in-law Patricia “Pat” Pesta. Together they comprise the workforce that has kept the store’s tradition alive.

Pesta’s was founded by Andrew Pesta, who immigrated from Czechoslovakia — now the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic — with his wife, Susan, and landed at Ellis Island. The store was founded in 1925 on an ethnically diverse hill in Mingo Junction. Nearby, the Pesta family had ties to First Slovak Presbyterian Church, where Andrew and Susan Pesta were charter members. That church was torn down in 1960 and merged with First United Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction.

Now, Becky and Pat Pesta claim the title of “the oldest grocery store in Mingo” for Pesta’s, with the store being 98 years old. Pesta’s is unique in that regard alone, but Pat Pesta said that what really sets the store apart is its community-centered attitude.

“It’s a welcoming place to come into,” Pat Pesta said. “We greet you when you come in. We go above and beyond trying to help you. … We’re a friendly place to shop.”

“Where everybody knows each other,” Becky Pesta added.

The two often see familiar faces coming through the door, with some customers’ families having been patrons for generations. During that time, aspects of the store have evolved to suit the times. For example, Pesta’s used to do home deliveries and provide its own beef and produce from a family farm in Wells Township. The farm is still functioning, raising beef cattle and hay, but it only provides the store with their fresh eggs nowadays.

However, Pesta’s has never ceased being a family affair. David Pesta Sr., Becky Pesta’s father, took ownership of the store after his father and operated it for more than 60 years, along with his wife, Cecelia. Those two had five children, including sons David, Timothy and Mark Pesta, as well as daughters Barabara Cook and Becky Pesta.

Described by Pat Pesta as the one who held the family and store together, Cook was the most recent owner before Becky Pesta. It was from Cook that the store gained one of its most distinguishable qualities: its decorations. The store’s interior is trimmed with all manner of decorations, with floral accents and country aesthetics.

Decorating was a hobby Cook adopted by displaying centerpieces for the store. She shared the hobby with her mother, Becky Pesta and Pat Pesta, and it brought them to various antique flea markets in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Becky and Pat Pesta run a country gift shop across the street, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Becky Pesta recalled growing up around the store and beginning to help out after high school. Pat Pesta married into the family in 1972 and began helping around 1985, after taking some years to raise her daughter. The skills for the store and meat handling were passed down through the generations, Becky Pesta said.

Some of the store’s favorites among customers include smoked kielbasa, chicken salad, ham salad and city chicken, which is fried pork on a stick.

The store itself harbors history around every corner, with multiple family pictures, stretching all the way back to Andrew and Susan Pesta, lining the walls. Near the front of the store, a plaque is displayed, detailing Pesta’s receipt of a professional/business award from the Mingo Business Association in 2014 for dedication to the village.

Also displayed are newspaper clippings that describe the filming of the 1983 movie “Heart of Steel,” directed by Donal Wrye and featuring Peter Strauss. That movie was filmed in several Ohio Valley locations, including Pesta’s.

Becky Pesta said it is great to be a part of preserving a corner store in the village. Her favorite part about the store is serving people who enjoy shopping there, and she added that she stays in the business because “you do what you like.”

Pat Pesta said, “We have kind of a camaraderie with our customers. We have a personal touch with them.”

“It’s more than just buying groceries,” Becky Pesta added.

Service is one of Pesta’s main staples, Pat Pesta said, something not as present in big-box stores. She said people are guaranteed to receive a “hello” and “is this your first time here” when they walk in initially.

Pat Pesta said, “I always say, ‘Welcome to our store, let me tell you a little bit about it.'”