Winco To Enter Montana With 2 Stores

WinCo Foods is entering its 10th state on March 3 with the opening of two stores in Montana.

The stores – WinCo's 125th and 126th locations – will be located in Helena and Billings, and each will measure roughly 84,000 square feet. Each will be staffed by about 150 associates from nearby communities.

“We believe Helena and Billings are both a perfect fit with WinCo Foods and a prime opportunity for the company and for the people of these cities,” said Noah Fleisher, spokesman for Boise, Idaho-based WinCo Foods, adding: “It’s been very heartening to watch the excitement in these communities growing as we get closer to opening. WinCo Foods certainly feels the same. We’re ready to bring our employee-owned brand of deep savings and wide selection to the good people of Helena and Billings. If the advance notice is any indication, we should have a lot of very happy shoppers come Sunday, March 3.”

Each store will house many of WinCo's signature features, including its trademark Wall of Values at the entrance, where some of the deepest savings can be found, as well as a wide assortment of grocery items and a full produce section, meat department, deli department and in-store bakery. Each store also will offer the 700-plus-item bulk food department, where customers can purchase whatever quantities they desire of such products as rice, dried beans, pastas, baking ingredients, dry cereals, snacks, candies and pet foods.

“Our customers love that they can buy as little or as much as they like,” said Fleisher, “whether it’s two teaspoons of a specific spice or a 50-pound sack of flour. On top of all this, we also carry a variety of organic, gluten-free and natural food items, all clearly labeled.”

Reports that WinCo was planning to enter the Treasure State with a store in Billings surfaced one year ago. Before then, the grocer had plans to enter the state when, in April 2016, it revealed plans to build a store in Bozeman. However, it withdrew its plans several months later due to the city’s design requirements. It then announced its intention to build a store in the capital city of Helena, but put those plans on hold the following March.

WinCo Foods Inc. operates 123 stores in nine states and employs 18,000 associates. The company is No. 17 on Progressive Grocer's 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.