Shoppers crowd the new WinCo Foods store at 7501 W. Washington Ave. near Buffalo Drive on Monday, March 9, 2020.
Somebody should have called crowd control.
There were swarms of people, a jammed parking lot with the frequent sound of horns and an occasional curse word, and shopping carts overflowing the water, soft drinks, toilet paper and canned goods on Monday as WinCo Foods opened its third store in the Las Vegas Valley.
The store, a former Kmart at 7501 W. Washington Ave. near Buffalo Drive, had been vacant since it was closed Sept. 30. It covers roughly 85,000 square feet.
But on Monday, it was overwhelmed with people jockeying for parking spots, patrolling the aisles and loading their carts with everything from $1.48 Chunky soup to $5.48 family size Eggo waffles to 98 cent/pound ribs plus staples and bottled water and paper products.
A sign near the entrance said no hand sanitizer was available.
The only quiet spot inside the store on Monday was an inactive gaming area.
Nicole, a banquet server in Las Vegas, said the 98 cent/pound ribs drew her to the opening. But she was unloading her cart that also contained canned goods and cartons of Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper.
She noticed the huge turnout.
“A lot of people were rude,” she said.
But she’ll be back.
“I live right down the street,” she said.
Nearby, Lillian was getting ready to unload her purchases into the trunk of an aging Mercury Cougar.
A retiree, Lillian said she was drawn to the price on ribs, too, but added that she was attracted by “everything.”
WinCo Foods already operates stores at 80 N. Stephanie St. in Henderson and 6101 N. Decatur Blvd. in Las Vegas.
The company, which is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, sells discounted groceries and bulk foods.
Most stores, including the latest one in Las Vegas, also have a bakery and a deli.
There are 126 employee-owned stores with 18,000 workers, according to its website. According to a story at Forbes, WinCo has more than 400 front-line employees with more than $1 million in their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) accounts.
If WinCo Foods is counting on return customers at the new Las Vegas store, they are probably correct.
Asked if she will be back, Lillian said, “Oh yes.”
