Peter M. Keating – Town Council
Peter had a long career in retail sales. As a student at the University of Connecticut, he worked at an independent supermarket in Wilton, CT, during school breaks. The day after he graduated, he was hired as its Assistant General Manager and began learning how to manage the supermarket. In 1989, Peter purchased the business from the founding family and operated it – along with his approximately one hundred employees – for the next 24 years. When he retired to Charlestown, he sold the business to two of his long-term employees and continues to be employed as a consultant.
Peter was very active in the Wilton business community. In addition, he served as a Director, Vice Chairman, and Finance Committee Chair of Allied Grocers Co-Operative Wholesalers, a co-operative food wholesaler with approximately 300 member stores in New England and $200 million in sales. He was a founding member of both the local Chamber of Commerce and the Wilton Education Association, an organization that enhances extra-curricular experiences for local students.
Peter will bring to the Town Council, his decades of experience in understanding and successfully responding to, the diverse needs and wants of his workers, customers, and suppliers. He has also had extensive experience working with inspectors, regulators, legislators and agencies on the local, state and federal levels.
Education
- University of Connecticut, BS, Psychology
Professional Experience
- Village Market, Inc., Wilton, CT – Consultant, 2013–present; Owner/Operator, 1989–2013; President, 1987–1989; General Manager, 1978–1987
Public Service
- Past Board Member, Vice Chairman, and Finance Committee Chair, Allied Grocers Co-Operative Wholesalers
- Founding member, Wilton Chamber of Commerce and Wilton Education Foundation, an organization that enhances educational extra-curricular experiences for local students
- Member of the Boards of Directors of the Wilton Library and the United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut
- Volunteer for countless fundraisers and events over the decades, donor of gallons of blood, and one kidney (to a stranger)
- Volunteer in rural Kenya, Africa, where he was an organizer of a fledgling orphanage and school
Personal
- Peter met his wife Roxanne, a native Rhode Islander, when she came to his home in Charlestown to help care for his mother. Their first date was at the Frosty Drew Observatory! Peter’s son and daughter live in Virginia and California, respectively, where they are raising his 5 grandkids.
