Beehive Basin Snow Measuring Stick

I'm reposting this so it's at the top of the blog. See recent photo at the bottom of the page.

WinCo Bozeman - Big Deal or Just Another Grocery Store?

In small mountain towns, little things like new grocery stores get people talking. When I moved to Jackson, Wyoming in 1999, the local Albertson’s was in the process of building a new store. They opened to much anticipation and the reaction was mixed. Some people complained that it was too big and too “fancy” while others marveled at its novel-for-the-time features such as a coffee shop and fireplace. A few months later, a new executive director moved from the Washington D.C. area to assume leadership of the organization I was working for. Several weeks after his arrival someone asked if he had been to the new Albertson’s. He looked at them blankly and when he realized they were serious he said, “It’s just a grocery store.” 

Although Bozeman is much bigger than Jackson, we’re still a small mountain town in many ways with the propensity to succumb to chatter about new grocery stores. I had never heard of the WinCo chain before they opened a store here. As with many things during this tumultuous period of growth in Bozeman, people had opinions about it. I didn’t follow the saga closely (And it was a saga – Bozeman Daily Chronicle links at the bottom of this post), and they opened their store in February. 

Being nosy and wanting to see what the fuss was all about, I finally got around to shopping there for the first time three weeks ago. Is WinCo a big deal or just another grocery store? Here’s what I found.

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