Anyone shop at WinCo grocery stores? [UPDATED OP]

[hippywife]

Last edited Mon May 15, 2023, 03:42 PM - Edit history (2)

They seem to have many stores in a handful of states, including CA, and are employee owned. If you've shopped or do shop at one, what has your experience been like?

https://www.wincofoods.com/

ETA: one opened here a couple years ago, but it's farther into town and with the pandemic, we needed to be able to order online and pickup (this local WinCo doesn't offer online), so pretty much had to go with WalMart, even tho we boycotted them for many years. The other available stores are:

1.) the local grocery closest to us, is small with less selection and higher prices. I used to shop there but they never made their employees mask during the height of the pandemic so they lost our business over that.

2.) another local chain that's extremely expensive.

3.) Aldi's which I don't feel safe in due to the size of the store and not being able to avoid getting too close to people.

4.) Whole Foods is too expensive and I boycott all Amazon companies.

Even tho the virus is still being spread around here and masking has been problematic from the very beginning (very red state, sigh), I'm sick of dealing with WalMart's shit. We've decided to go back to shopping for our own groceries (still masking) and will have to drive a little farther into town to shop this WinCo. We were thinking about checking them out this week.

Really appreciate the responses so far!

[AZSkiffyGeek]

1. We have a friend in AZ who loves them

I've been a few times and it seems like a good store. My biggest complaint is that you can't get delivery from them, which is less of an issue now.

[Enter stage left]

2. We like them. They have a good selection, great produce, and very good prices...

They only take cash or debit cards to help keep prices low.

[AndyS]

3. Well marketed high quality food and pricing is very competitive.

Not as big box as Costco, more like a regular grocery store. You can still beat some items with the weekly flyers at the Nationals but if you only want to visit one store I'd start here. Do not take credit cards, debit or cash only.

[hippywife]

12. WalMart, Target & WF are the only nationals we have here...

if you don't count Aldi's. Well, there is a Costco, but we don't buy things in bulk and don't want to pay membership fees just to shop.

ETA: Oops! Forgot Trader Joes, but they're waaaaay up in town, which is why I forget, don't consider them as an option.

[MontanaMama]

4. We've got a relatively new WinCo here in Missoula, MT.

I like that it is employee owned. I have a high school pal that works there and she likes it. From a shopping perspective, it's a BIG store...I get easily overwhelmed in places like that...kinda like Costco and that's a negative for me. I would rate the quality of the fresh produce (the most important thing to me) at about a 6-7. It's just okay.

[ret5hd]

5. Bulk items (grains, nuts, flour, beans, etc) are cheap.

[barbaraann]

6. I shop there and like it for some things.

I also shop at several other grocery stores because not one of them has everything we like or need.

[hippywife]

7. What doesn't WinCo have...

that you need to shop other stores? I want to only have to shop one and willing to adjust meal plans if they don't have something, within reason.

[barbaraann]

16. Here's a list of the things I can think of:

Amy's No Cheese Pizza
Kumato tomatoes
Dave's Killer Hamburger Buns
Good Foods Queso Style dip
A certain kind of egg rolls that Grocery Outlet carries
cooked turkey breast (not sliced) (Foster Farms?)
pre-washed lettuce leaves for sandwiches
random things that show up on in a while only at Grocery Outlet and nowhere else in our area
Bachan's bbq sauce
sale items or marked-down produce at really good prices
That's what I can think of off the top of my head.

Oh, and I live very close to half a dozen grocery stores so I don't have to drive much to pick up these things.

[hippywife]

19. I don't buy much in the way of specialty brands of anything...

so, things like those aren't a deal breaker for me. There are four grocery stores between here and the Winco, but I don't want to make a bunch of stops to get the shopping done.

Now if it were something along the lines of needing ricotta cheese for lasagna, and all they had was cottage cheese, damn straight I'd be making another stop, but not for specific brands.

Thanks for responding with more details.

[barbaraann]

21. You're welcome!

This is making me hungry!!

[liberalmuse]

8. I shop at one here in WA state

I love it! There's a wider variety of food and lower prices than the other discount store I shop at.

[Thunderbeast]

9. We shop at WinCo regularly.

Prices are good. Bulk section is robust. Not a large organic selection.

Our closest store is now jam packed with the closing of WalMart a few blocks away.

[hermetic]

10. I love Winco

It's a 50 mile round trip so I go once a month and buy most everything. They have the best bakery, bulk goods and deli plus good prices. The produce is not 100% so I get most of that locally since I am in a farming community. I also really enjoy the staff, finding them always pleasant and chatty if you want to be. They are also good about masking.

[2naSalit]

11. Have shopped at their stores for decades.

Last edited Mon May 15, 2023, 06:47 PM - Edit history (1)

First encountered them in SE Idaho in '90. I guess that's the area where they began and they had a different name that sounded too much like walmart and they changed it shortly after walmart came to town.

Whenever I live within an hour's drive to get to one, I will do a lot of my shopping there. Some items aren't that great a deal compared to other local stores like cat food and litter, for example. For a wide variety of produce and other perishables, they are great.

I like that they are employee owned. When I was in college many classmates took jobs with them and stayed the whole time they were in school and had some handsome sums available when they left town due to profit sharing and other employee benefits.

The one the built near me, 45 miles, is large and brings in shoppers from four other counties. It's located about 1500ft from the Costco and there's a target in between. So if you have to go to Costco for some stuff but don't want things by the case you can go across the road and get smaller portions at Winco. That's what I do.

[hippywife]

18. Good to know the employees do well there. nt

[2naSalit]

22. It's a big selling point for me.

There's also an employee owned grocer in my county and I go there mostly but when I have to go to the city, next county over, I plan to make a stop there and get what I can. Rural lifestyle = planning your shopping trips because they don't happen all that often.

[hippywife]

23. That's the same situation for us.

We live in a rural area outside of the city, so as much as is possible, groceries and all other errands are run on the same trip.

Am I reading correctly that you need to bag your own groceries at check out? Can you bring your own reusable bags?

[2naSalit]

25. Yes and yes.

They provide paper and plastic at the bagging end of a double conveyor belt. There is a divider so that you can bag your groceries in peace while the next person in line can get through right after you. But you can use your own if you bring them. It's self explanatory once you see it. They all function the same. I have seen five different Winco stores in my travels. I have been waiting for them to build one closer than Idaho so I could go there. When I lived in the county with the big city, it far enough away where I could go to the closest Winco in Idaho when I went that way, didn't go often ...in either direction.

[hippywife]

26. Thanks! Keeps me from going unprepared. nt

[Hassler]

13. WINCO is our weekly go to, especially bulk items. Otherwise we do Trader Joe

Cheapest prices, not always the best selection.

[hippywife]

14. What do you think they lack in their selection? nt

[Hassler]

15. Example: they'll have generic mustard and French's, but if you want something more

They often don't have it. They do have a decent wine selection.

[hippywife]

17. We don't buy/consume any alcohol...

so, that's not a draw, but I'm good on the mustard thing. While I've been shopping WM, I've bought a lot of their store brand stuff without much issue.

[maspaha]

20. I love Winco!

I started shopping at Winco when we lived in Meridian, ID 20 years ago. The stores were cleaner, had more variety, better quality and prices than Albertsons, Walmart, or Fred Meyer. Then we moved to Phoenix and I was without a local Winco for about 15 years until the first AZ Winco opened in East Mesa. Between the time we left Meridian and Winco opened in Mesa, I would bring extra coolers and boxes so we could stop at the Winco in Indio, CA just off the I-10 on the drive home when our daughter would play in soccer tournaments in SoCal (276 miles from my garage to the Indio Winco parking lot).

Our Winco is open 24 hrs. They DO NOT take credit cards! Cash, Debit, checks are OK. The products are great and i feel good about buying from an employee owned company.

[hippywife]

24. That's quite a testimoney.

I've read they don't take checks, tho.

[maspaha]

27. I bet you're right about checks, i just haven't used them since I got the debit card. Sorry!

[yellowdogintexas]

28. WINCO in Fort Worth TX we like it a LOT

For years I had been telling our daughter in Phoenix that she needed to go there. Well she moved to a new neighborhood, and the closest store is ..WINCO! She loves it! Now she doesn't go anywhere else.

They buy meat in large pieces and cut it themselves into steaks or whatever (such as Brisket, ribs, steaks, etc.) The meat prices are very good. The only thing they have been disappointed in was the fish/seafood. This may be an issue with just this one store, though. We don't buy fish so can't compare.

I have been quite satisfied with the produce. Generally, they have the best prices on eggs and dairy products. Their bulk area is fairly large, with a decent selection of spices (weigh it yourself and save $$) and lots of pasta, rice and baking ingredients. They have the tricolored popcorn in the bulk area, and it is far less expensive than anywhere else you can find it.

Over all unless you want something very unusual or brand specific Winco is a great place to shop.

[hippywife]

29. Yeah, I only had a problem with one thing I bought.

I picked up an angel food cake loaf. OMG! It tasted like pure unadulterated sweetened chemicals. Blech. The pancetta I picked up wasn't great, either. But so far, everything else has been perfectly fine.

[Trailrider1951]

30. I just went shopping at our neighborhood Winco

I usually go about twice a month for pretty much everything I eat. I'm in Western Washington State, and here is a comparison of what I bought at Winco versus the other neighborhood grocery, a Safeway:

Morningstar Farms breakfast sausage patties, 8 oz.: $3.98 at Winco, $4.49 member price at Safeway, $5.49 nonmember
Treasure Cave crumbled blue cheese, 5 oz.: $3.62 Winco, $5.49 member, $6.49 nonmember at Safeway
Romaine lettuce, regular head: $1.98 Winco, $2.49 Safeway
Fresh strawberries, 1 lb.: $1.98 Winco, $4.49 Safeway
Medium avocado: $0.68 Winco, $1.25 member, $1.49 nonmember Safeway
Arm & Hammer Liquid Laundry detergent, 105 loads: $6.98 Winco, $11.49 member, $14.99 nonmember Safeway
Granulated white sugar, 4 lbs.: $2.94 Winco, $3.79 member, $4.29 nonmember Safeway
Franz raisin and cinnamon English muffins, 6 count, prepackaged: $2.68 Winco, $4.79 Safeway

and on and on it goes. I can cut my grocery bill nearly in half just by shopping at Winco. And I have not had any problems with anything I have purchased at Winco. The only time I buy anything at Safeway is when I cannot get it anywhere else. Example: Organic fresh wheat grass for my cats. Nobody but Safeway carries it. Hope this helps!

[hippywife]

31. I just got back from there...

and it doesn't cut my weekly grocery bill in half from WalMart. I'm finding they're less expensive on some things, more expensive on others, but it works out that it's about the same cost, but at least I don't have to deal with WM anymore.

The other thing I noticed is the scent wafting through the store seems to affect the flavors of some things that aren't pre-packaged. I got a couple of apple fritters for husband and I, they tasted like the store smells. It's not a terrible scent, I just don't want to taste it in my food.

My huge find for today was Brown N Serve beef sausage links. I used to eat those with my grandma all the time and haven't had any since I moved away 26 years ago. I'm pretty excited about that.

[Retrograde]

32. Not in the Bay Area

I tend to patronize 2 local family-owned stores, the farmers' market, and Costco for large buys. The local stores tend to be pricier than Safeway at times, but they don't involve driving out of my way - and their produce and meat are IMHO better quality.

I've heard good things about WinCo, but the nearest one seems to be a two-hour drive each way.

I forgot the corner market, which can be eccentric at times: it sometimes seems to be designed for people who need to pick up a loaf of sourdough bread, a can of menudo, some fresh potato salad, a couple of jars of Indian pickles, and a $400 bottle of wine on the way home. Sometimes they surprise me with a good buy on produce, sometimes they're out of everything I was looking for.