WinCo

[Pete]

It's really an amazing place and as I said before, it can be quite overwhelming.

But, they have very good prices, excellent customer service and have not only bulk and great pricing but also all the things a traditional grocery store would carry, and in the same range of sizes.

This matters because you can use it as your one and only grocery store, as opposed to some place like Costco or Sam's Club which carry a limited amount of items and almost always in sizes meant for a small army. Or even Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Sprouts... Good for some things but I still need name-brand soda and other things they just don't stock.

I know when I cook, I often need things I can only find at a traditional grocer. So, that means buying a bunch of stuff at Sam's then making a separate trip to the dreaded Walmart Neighborhood Market to find many of the small things or a particular type of produce.

Now, Winco can just be my grocery store. I'll still shop at Sam's for the big items like pet food and some staples, but Winco fills a big hole.

And with the new Aldi being only a mile away, I'm sure I will stop in occasionally for some of their more unique items, just as I do at Trader Joe's.

[David]

Gave it a try mid-afternoon today. Lots of people, but not so many as to be unbearable. As best as I could tell it had all my usual range of products I get from Walmart, so it does look like it could be a replacement grocery store for me.

[Bullbear]

Went yesterday at about 430p.. was busy but could navigate around ok. Couldn't give it a REAL good look as some areas were congested. I like it the layout is of course different as mentioned but good pricing and can definitely see me adding it to my list. I primarily shop at ALDI and SAMS but I may need less SAMS with this available actually.

[Zuplar]

We really love when Winco opens a new store because of the grand opening sale they do everywhere. Hit the one up in Moore today. Probably one of the better new stores in the OKC area. I remember when it was first announced and Pete talked so highly on it. He was spot on, it’s been great for our market IMO.

[Pete]

It was July of 2013 that I first reported Winco would be coming to OKC.

Almost 5 years later, I finally shopped in one in my home town!

[stile99]

We really love when Winco opens a new store because of the grand opening sale they do everywhere. Hit the one up in Moore today. Probably one of the better new stores in the OKC area. I remember when it was first announced and Pete talked so highly on it. He was spot on, it’s been great for our market IMO.

Wait...they have the same specials listed in the flyer at the Moore and MWC locations as well?

[Ward]

There is some long term storage type foods and materials back in the corner, including Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers and buckets.

[Zuplar]

Wait...they have the same specials listed in the flyer at the Moore and MWC locations as well?

I mean I got a flyer for the Moore store and it says grand opening sale for the new one opening. I figure it’s at all the locations.

[kukblue1]

Sunday 11:30 am was not a good time to go. I only went to walk around. No parking had to park way in the corner. People waiting on shopping carts. Checkout lines 3-4 deep. Walked most of it. It is a huge store. Was at Crest in Moore off 104th on Saturday. I know my prices and Winco is just like any other place. Some things are cheaper some things are not. Their maxwell house coffee was way more than I can get it at Dollar General. Some of the stuff I bought at crest was the same price at winco. A few things were cheaper. A few things a little more. It might become my regular store once the crowds go down as I usually go to Crest on 23rd. However I could see winco being almost too big. I did notice they didn't carry certain brands either. No whataburger ketchup. No Boston Market TV dinners. I'm also not sure how I feel about bagging my own grocery also. If you have a shopping cart full that could be a pain. At crest I just put all my frozen on the belt and refrigerated stuff on the belt so it gets bagged together. After that I don't care how it gets bagged.

[scottk]

Made a trip to Winco on 39th and Portland today. I'll echo what others have said that it was busy, but that is to be expected for opening weekend. The store was packed, but manageable to navigate. The layout and feel of the store is a mix between a Costco and Crest. The "wall of savings" at the entrance had some really good deals compared to other OKC grocers.

Where Winco won for us today was the bulk food section. The prices and selection were great. If you love to make certain foods form scratch, this section is for you. The giant drums of ingredients and multiple aisles of options.

Unlike Uptown Grocery, Winco's concept caters to a different type of shopper looking for large quantities and low prices. They really go head to head with Crest on a lot of their price concepts. We didn't get a chance to really inspect the bakery and deli, but it appears they have quite the meat selection. Like Crest and their in-house brand, the "Winco" brand items are really priced lower than the name brands.

Living in NW OKC, we typically go to Crest. With this being right off of Hefner Parkway/I-44, it takes about the same amount of time to get to Winco at this location, just double the distance. With Winco now having three stores open in OKC, I think Crest will have to "up their game." I'm assuming this will also take a big chunk of the Buy For Less customer base at 63rd and Expressway.

This is great news for those that live in the Integris/Penn Square area with Aldi and Winco being added to this area.

[Rover]

Went to check out today. It is definitely a threat to Buy 4Less. Not really for Crest. crest stores are much nicer. Wilco meat selection was not good, and their beef did not look to be of high quality ...good for quantity though.

[RustytheBailiff]

Was at the Winco on Saturday and went to the Crest Store on 23rd and Meridian on Sunday. For at least Winco's opening, Crest matched their prices on the specials. Crest has Ribs at 98 Cents Limit one - Shasta Soda at $1.98, Ranch Beans at 48 cents etc. I like Winco, having been venturing to the Moore and Midwest City Locations for the last six months or so -- but for at least this weekend it looked like Crest has the better prices, plus it was a lot easier to get into and out of.

[stile99]

With Winco now having three stores open in OKC, I think Crest will have to "up their game."

Could you expand on this? In what way has Crest been lagging? You probably meant Homeland, in which case I think it's way past that and we're just waiting for them to go out of business, but it's possible they might turn around. Crest is probably welcoming the competition, whereas Homeland is crapping bricks that the metro area has yet another viable competitor (the other one being Crest). According to rumor, Crest is "upping their game" by finally looking at the Mustang/Yukon area and seeing the huge, gaping hole that needs to be filled.

[barrettd]

Could you expand on this? In what way has Crest been lagging? You probably meant Homeland, in which case I think it's way past that and we're just waiting for them to go out of business, but it's possible they might turn around. Crest is probably welcoming the competition, whereas Homeland is crapping bricks that the metro area has yet another viable competitor (the other one being Crest). According to rumor, Crest is "upping their game" by finally looking at the Mustang/Yukon area and seeing the huge, gaping hole that needs to be filled.

I think I've stated this before, but the Homeland at Britton and May, which used to be, I'd assume, one of their better stores, is just depressing lately. Uptown is a much better experience, in my opinion. I can't imagine them actually closing, but who knows?

Looking forward to visiting Winco, and really looking forward to their store at Penn and Memorial area in a few years, I'd guess.

[Rover]

This is certainly an observation -anecdotal and not data based - but Homeland on Britton and May seems to always have a decent amount of people in it when I go (which isn't alot). I like their meat counter as one of the people there is most helpful in selection and they often have very good special pricing on a good quality of meat. Their dairy seems priced okay, but basic staples seem very high. I don't know what their traffic count vs. uptown is but Uptown seems to have slowed up a bit there. I think Winco will ultimately hurt these two and the B4Less at NW Expy a lot. If both of them at Britton and May go out in the next couple of years, look for Crest to backfill. They are good operators and that would still be a great corner to be on.

[scottk]

Could you expand on this? In what way has Crest been lagging? You probably meant Homeland, in which case I think it's way past that and we're just waiting for them to go out of business, but it's possible they might turn around.

I don't know if Crest "welcomes" the competition, but yes, Winco and Crest are very similar with who they want to attract for a customer. Winco brands themselves as the Low Cost Leader and Crest is Rock Bottom Prices. As for Homeland, other than a handful of stores, has already given up.

As for Crest, with Winco across the metro, and planning to expand, they will need to remain competitive with pricing and store atmosphere. Depending on what Crest you shop at, they vary in size and offerings. The newer Fresh Market stores hold their ground. The large Crest at 15th and Santa Fe is well protected with no real competition within a radius of 2 miles. Some of the smaller Crest stores that are located near the newer and larger Winco stores may see a drop.

Crest expanding their footprint west is great.

At the end of the day, its us, the customer who benefits from the options and competition.

[SEMIweather]

I don't know if Crest "welcomes" the competition, but yes, Winco and Crest are very similar with who they want to attract for a customer. Winco brands themselves as the Low Cost Leader and Crest is Rock Bottom Prices. As for Homeland, other than a handful of stores, has already given up.

As for Crest, with Winco across the metro, and planning to expand, they will need to remain competitive with pricing and store atmosphere. Depending on what Crest you shop at, they vary in size and offerings. The newer Fresh Market stores hold their ground. The large Crest at 15th and Santa Fe is well protected with no real competition within a radius of 2 miles. Some of the smaller Crest stores that are located near the newer and larger Winco stores may see a drop.

Crest expanding their footprint west is great.

At the end of the day, its us, the customer who benefits from the options and competition.

I prefer Crest over WinCo, but I am desperately hoping that the new WinCo forces Crest to update their store at 23rd & Meridian. I get that they are somewhat limited by the lack of size at that location, but it has to be the worst one out of their eight stores. Even the Moore store and the smaller Midwest City store are better.

[Rover]

Crest stores are a lot more visually appealing if the new Windows is typical.

[HOT ROD]

so amazing the amount of supermarkets and grocery options in the Oklahoma City metro area now. ... Just think a few years ago and it was just Homeland, B4L, and Sams/Walmart, (and SuperTarget to a lesser degree). Now, you have those + Uptown, Winco, Costco (coming), Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Aldi, others. ...

[barrettd]

This is certainly an observation -anecdotal and not data based - but Homeland on Britton and May seems to always have a decent amount of people in it when I go (which isn't alot). I like their meat counter as one of the people there is most helpful in selection and they often have very good special pricing on a good quality of meat. Their dairy seems priced okay, but basic staples seem very high. I don't know what their traffic count vs. uptown is but Uptown seems to have slowed up a bit there. I think Winco will ultimately hurt these two and the B4Less at NW Expy a lot. If both of them at Britton and May go out in the next couple of years, look for Crest to backfill. They are good operators and that would still be a great corner to be on.

I really think Uptown and Homeland will be okay at that location. It seems like Winco would do more to hurt the Aldi/Target/WalMart/Sam's stuff that's in the immediate vicinity of the future store at Penn/Memorial. I don't plan on driving down to Winco right now, and when the north (Penn) location opens, I'll likely go there as my first option over the others I've listed in that area. I'm also saying this as a person who has never been inside a Winco (yet), so I don't know if the actual shopping experience will appeal to me. We have a lot of grocery options between Britton/Memorial and Penn/May.

My least favorite, of all the grocery options in or near The Village, is the WalMart Neighborhood Market at Penn and Britton, so Homeland still has that one beat.

[Rover]

Aldi is such a different kind of store, I doubt they will be affected at all by Wilco or Costco. But, between Wilco, Walmart, Sams, Costco and Crest all close together on or near Memorial it will be a stampede of elephants.

[soonermike81]

so amazing the amount of supermarkets and grocery options in the Oklahoma City metro area now. ... Just think a few years ago and it was just Homeland, B4L, and Sams/Walmart, (and SuperTarget to a lesser degree). Now, you have those + Uptown, Winco, Costco (coming), Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Aldi, others. ...

Most don’t realize it because there was less than a handful of them, and their footprint is quite small compared to others at the time. But Aldi has been a part of the metro for at least 15 years. I think all the facelifts, the recession, and their expansion has finally made the masses aware of their presence.

[Pete]

Really frustrating experience with self checkout this morning.

Not too crazy busy but there were 3-4 people in each line (only 4 were open) so I tried the self checkout.

I got hung up several times by the machine saying 'unexpected item in baggage area; staff has been alerted for help'. The one guy standing there was completely overwhelmed and I noticed 4 of the 6 checkout stations all were flashing red, meaning they were all stuck.

I could not get help and finally kept taking things of the bagging area, putting them back in... Until it finally allowed me to move forward. It took forever and was very frustrating.

It's still tough to shop in there because you have 98% of the people wandering around completely stunned with most of them leaving their carts right in the middle of the aisle.

On the positive side, I quickly found employees to help me find a few items and they were very helpful.

[bchris02]

One variable in this is the new liquor laws. It should make the grocery business here much more profitable than it previously was. Hopefully grocers like Crest, Homeland, and B4L are thinking of how to implement wine/beer in a way that's more than just an afterthought.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Really frustrating experience with self checkout this morning.

Not too crazy busy but there were 3-4 people in each line (only 4 were open) so I tried the self checkout.

I got hung up several times by the machine saying 'unexpected item in baggage area; staff has been alerted for help'. The one guy standing there was completely overwhelmed and I noticed 4 of the 6 checkout stations all were flashing red, meaning they were all stuck.

I could not get help and finally kept taking things of the bagging area, putting them back in... Until it finally allowed me to move forward. It took forever and was very frustrating.

It's still tough to shop in there because you have 98% of the people wandering around completely stunned with most of them leaving their carts right in the middle of the aisle.

On the positive side, I quickly found employees to help me find a few items and they were very helpful.

I mean people have no sense of awareness in grocery stores. Walmart, Homeland, Crest, etc people just leave their carts blocking half a aisle or they crown one area for 10 minutes deciding between rice.

This is why I go to the grocery store during the week. On the weekends it is just full on this.