Nicola “Nick” Peirano Sr. immigrated to Ventura County from Italy in 1882 to help his uncle Alex Gandolfo run his store located at 204 E. Main Street in downtown Ventura. Peirano Market was one of Ventura's earliest commercial buildings, constructed in 1877 on Main Street at Figueroa, just east of present-day Mission Park and across the street from old San Buenaventura Mission. Nick Peirano Sr. eventually purchased the store from his uncle in 1890 and it remained in the family until 1986 when Nick Peirano Jr. retired. Nick Jr. and his brother Victor took over the store in 1930. They changed it from a general merchandise store to a grocery store shortly thereafter. Business declined in the 1950s due to the construction of large supermarket chains in the area, but Peirano Market survived and retained the personalized customer-centric service model that was common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Peirano Market was known for extending assistance during hard times for customers. After Nick Jr. retired, it was purchased by the city in 1987, damaged by an earthquake in 1988 and subsequently could not be leased because the cost to bring it up to code was prohibitive. There was considerable debate in the community regarding its fate. A mission-era lavanderia was discovered under the floor of the market in 1991. After the site was documented by archeologists, a developer from Oxnard restored the building and it has been leased ever since.

Nick Sr. married Clara C. Rafetto in 1897 and they had seven children. The family lived in a Queen Anne style home at the corner of Santa Clara and Figueroa Streets which was built in 1897 and owned by the Peiranos until 1976. It was restored by Donald Parrish in 1978 and designated an historic landmark. The Peirano family also owned land throughout the county, most notably the Santa Ana Ranch.