WinCo Foods operates more than 135 grocery stores in ten Western and Mid-Western states (Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Montana). Most stores are open 24 hours a day, offering not only groceries but also bakery goods, bulk foods, fresh seafood, service delis and health and beauty products.

WinCo was founded in 1967 by two Boise area businessmen under the name Waremart. It was a no-frills, warehouse-style grocery store focusing on low prices. Over time, Waremart grew into a small chain of grocery stores, mainly based in the Pacific Northwest. In the 1970's, Waremart evolved into a supermarket that became regionally famous for low prices, flat-carts and grease pencils that customers had to use to write the price on each item (two of which are gone now, but not the low prices).

In the 1980's after the passing of Waremart's founder, there was uncertainty throughout the company. The employees loved the company, they loved their customers and did not want to see their stores go away. But what could they do? They were not rich investors or wealthy business owners. They were every day, hard working people that loved their place of work and loved the communities they called home.

For the employees of Waremart, there was only one option - join together and take ownership of their stores. In 1985 under the guidance of then company president Bill Long, the hard working men and women of Waremart established their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), and bought the company from the Ward family. And so, with 17 stores owned and cared for by these hard working individuals, an employee-owned company was born.

In 1999, Waremart was renamed by employee-owners as WinCo, which stands for “Winning Company,” after a company-wide contest and vote. Recognized this year as 7th best supermarket in America by Food & Wine, WinCo is living up to its name. It’s a fun fact that the letters that make up WinCo are also the first letters of the states of the initial employee-owned stores– Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon!

The company attributes its success to employee ownership, highlighting the “direct incentive for employees to work hard and take pride in what they do; that is why our stores are cleaner, our prices lower and our smiles are bigger.” As an employee-owned company, WinCo takes pride in being built from, reflective of, and owned by the local community. As WinCo Foods CEO Grant Haag says, “WinCo’s employee owners are our greatest business asset and our most potent resource for growth.