WinCo Foods is based in Boise, Idaho. It was founded in 1967, and the company is mostly owned by current and former employees through an employee stock ownership plan. WinCo operates distribution centers in: Woodburn, Oregon; Myrtle Creek, Oregon; Boise, Idaho; Phoenix, Arizona; Denton, Texas; and Modesto, California. The company reduces operating expenses by purchasing directly from manufacturers and farmers; operating basic, no-frills stores; not accepting credit cards; and not providing bagging service.
History
The company, originally called Waremart, was founded in Boise, Idaho in 1967 by Ralph Ward and Bud Williams. In 1985, Waremart employees established an employee stock ownership plan and purchased a majority stake of Waremart from the Ward family, making the company employee-owned. In January 1991, Waremart opened an 82,000 square-foot store in Boise to replace the two older Boise stores. At the time, Waremart was operating 16 stores in the Northwest and had reported annual sales of more than $300 million. In 1999, Waremart changed its name to WinCo Foods. According to the company, the name WinCo is a portmanteau of Winning Company, however, the company also says the name refers to the five states where the company originally operated stores. One store in Independence, Oregon retains the Waremart name. In 2017 and 2018, two smaller stores branded as "Waremart by WinCo" were opened in Ontario and Keizer, Oregon. In 2007, WinCo Foods accused a competing chain, Save Mart, of directing a lawsuit filed by a neighborhood group Tracy First of Tracy, California, to oppose city approval of a WinCo store. That same year, WinCo Foods opened in Pittsburg, California. In early 2009, WinCo opened its first two stores in the Spokane, Washington, area. In October, 2009, WinCo expanded to Utah, adding two stores in West Valley City and Midvale. An additional Utah store opened in Roy on June 28, 2010. bringing the total number of stores expanded to Utah to five. WinCo previously operated stores in Utah under the Waremart banner prior to the company's name change. In January 2011, WinCo began signing leases for an expansion to Southern Nevada and Arizona. The chain opened stores in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, on March 4, 2012. The company's first two stores in Arizona opened on April 1, 2012 in the Phoenix area. The company has opened multiple locations in Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area. WinCo was named as the sponsor for the WinCo Foods Portland Open in June, 2013. In late 2014, WinCo announced that it would enter the Oklahoma City metro market, starting with stores in Moore and Midwest City, with plans to open two other locations in the metro. In March 2017, WinCo opened its 114th store in Moses Lake, Washington.
