Bend’s new WinCo Foods supermarket sets Feb. 1 opening date

Located at former ShopKo site; hires 180 to 200 full-, part-time workers

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In an announcement many bargain-hunting Bend grocery shoppers have been anxiously awaiting, Boise-based WinCo Foods has set a Feb. 1 opening date for its Bend supermarket, its first in Central Oregon.

Here's the full announcement issued Tuesday:

Employee-owned WinCo Foods will open the doors of its new Bend, OR store – the company’s first location in Central Oregon – on Monday, Feb. 1, 2020 at 60 NE Bend River Mall Drive. With this new location, WinCo Foods brings its total number of stores to 129 across 10 states.

“Bend and the surrounding area has asked for a WinCo Foods for a long time and we can’t wait to start serving the good people who live there,” said Noah Fleisher, a spokesperson for the company. “Bend is about community, quality of life and good people, just like WinCo. We intend to work hard every day to show that to everyone here. ”

Known primarily for being the “Supermarket Low Price Leader,” WinCo Foods holds as its core business model offering “Low Prices - every aisle, every department, every day.”

The new WinCo Foods building is approximately 84,000 square feet and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be staffed by between 180 and 200 full and part-time employees from the local community.

The store will contain WinCo’s trademark “Wall of Values” at the entrance, as well as a wide assortment of grocery items, along with a full produce section and meat, deli, bakery and bulk foods departments. The bulk department also offers a range of organic and all-natural offerings.

Another trademark aspect of WinCo supermarkets is the 700+ item bulk foods department. Selections in the bulk foods department can be purchased in whatever quantities the customer desires and includes a multitude of rice varieties, dried beans, pastas, baking ingredients, cereals, snacks, candies and pet foods.

“Customers love that they can get whatever they want in whatever amount they want,” Fleisher said, “whether it’s a single teaspoon of a spice, a bag of candy or 20 pounds of flour. It’s up to the customer to decide what they want.”

All mandated social distancing, mask-wearing and hygiene protocols implemented by local authorities will be in effect during the opening and at all times, along with WinCo’s internal protocols.

“Our goal, above all, is to keep our employee owners, our customers and the community safe,” said Fleisher.

To learn more about employee owned WinCo Foods, go online to WinCoFoods.com, or join the conversation at Facebook.com/winco.official.page, where an online community of hundreds of thousands of smart shoppers share tips, recipes, reviews, coupons and more about WinCo Foods.