I Like WinCo
I was standing in line at the checkout with my fellow riff- raff at WinCo, in the Eureka Mall today, when Leo Sears' My Word column in today's Times- Standard came to mind.
I'm glad we didn't have all the anti- business sentiment we have in Humboldt today when WinCo came to town. Neat store, good prices (although some things are better bought at Grocery Outlet) and the cheapest beer in town.
Hey, when a store sells a case of Hamms Beer for $9.15 they'll get my business all the time. I used to frequent Safeway back when they sold three 12 packs of Old Milwaukee for something like $9.99 but, for some reason they decided not to carry any cheap beer anymore.
Detractors of big box stores don't realize how nice it is for us low income folks to have some place to buy things on the cheap and it's generally the big boxes that provide that opportunity.
They can actually help other smaller businesses, too.
The last time I went to WinCo, there was some gal in line in front of me. She had tons of everything: Eggs, vegetables, milk, you name it. Much more than I would think even a large family would need. I figured it had to be an institutional purchase. Maybe a rest home or the Senior Center.
When she finally got done with her business I quickly paid for the three or four items I was buying and went around to load my stuff and she was still packing up all her stuff. She apologized for taking so long. I told her I didn't mind ( I really didn't, but I could see the ladies behind me were getting annoyed).
I told her I figured she must be buying for some institution with a shopping list like hers. She said, "No, we actually own a small store. We can actually buy things cheaper here than we can from some distributors, so we buy a lot of our stuff here.".
Wow. That was a surprise. I'm still kicking myself in the head for not asking what store she runs. There's one small business that's thankful for at least one big box in town.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 1:42 PM
43 comments
43 Comments:
Fred,
Our favorite checker at WinCo was/is Phyllis S. She will remember us as the crazy Weitchpeckers who confused Bears and Berries. Give her our best.
I though I saw Rob Arkley buying a super-sized box of Depends there last night, so the prices must be good.
As far as big-boxes go, they aren't so bad. I prefer Costco, but mostly that's because you can get a free meal from all of the samples, and the television section is cool.
I am told however that for those who prefer organic produce they offer some pretty good deals, and even sell local produce (less so Costco).
Big boxes can compliment an economy. However, WalMart is not merely a big box. They're strategy, as their CEOs have expressly stated, is scorched earth. They deliberately eliminate their opposition. It's not a conspiracy theory. They're whole economic model is premised on it. Not every community wants that.
If I see Phyllis, Allen, I'll say hi for you. Quite honestly I haven't paid much attention to the checker's names, but I'll try to remember to now.
Costco's ok, Eric, but I just can't see paying money for the "privelege" of shopping there.
I've been told they do have a great return policy, unlike at least one other big box (Staples) in town.
Costco is great, Winco, too, when I have time and am in town. They carry some things that the other stores don't carry. For convenience, I still do the bulk of my shopping at the neighborhood market close to home.
I know a bunch of GUYS who love to go shop at Winco every Sunday, it's a great place for hunter-gatherers.
Somebody said the big boxes are the new five-and-dimes. I tend to agree. They have the basics, essentials that the "boutiques" don't carry.
I'm with Fred. And Leo. Live and let live. If you don't like them don't shop there, but let the rest of us, and the marketplace, make its own choice. the big boxes will have their day, and some day something new will take over and you'll be bemoaning your home town Home Depot's demise. Kinda like the Times-Standard's sudden new identity as the home-town newspaper. NOT.
What happened to live and let live. You do your thing and I'll do my thing. Those are those old liberal values you were talking about, Fred. Before Progressives decided they should dictate what we can and can't do, buy or eat.
Live and let live - maybe we shouldn't have laws against running red lights, or bopping a stranger over the head with a cantalope.
Anyone remember Weidemann? Around 15 years ago, Safeway used to carry it for $6 bucks a case. Times were much simpler, then. It tasted like piss, but it was great for shot-gunning. Ahh, those were the days!
Home Depot:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/1153/view/summary
Wal Mart:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/2137/view/summary
WinCo:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/2198/view/summary
Costco:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/721/view/summary
Well that settles it... Costco is the best!
and there you have the problem with our whole world.
$220,303 to Democrats
$2,000 to Republicans
$0 to Others
$222,303 in Total Contributions
Patrick Riggs - f-ck you.
At least now we know the reason why SOME corporations are more equal than others.
what a f-cking mess. partisan crap.
Costco is also union - I believe.
wow 12:14 AM... I can see the veins popping out of your forehead... looks like bloging might be bad for your health... worse than the food at winco...
12:40-Costco non-union. Winco non-union Wal Mart non-union Home Depot non-union
Only about 13 percent of Costco's 103,000 workers are unionized,
"Anyone remember Weidemann?"
Seems to me I vaguely remember that stuff. I remember the generic beer that store at the 101 Mall sold even better. What was the name of that store that took over the Bazar place?
Five bucks a case and the beer came in a white can with the words "Beer" in black print on it. No fancy labeing on the box, either, just a cardboard flat. Bought that stuff all the time.
Mark and Save took over after Bazar.
That's the one. Thanks.
Eric,
"running red lights and bopping strangers over the head" ain't live an let live. It just happens to be your meal ticket.
Most of the "contributions" to one or the other major political parties/candidates are in the form of extorted protection money. Ben & Jerry's is the exception.
Fred, If you are a heavy beer drinker make the first 6pack Tuborg or Calrlsberg then switch to the horse piss.
Too expensive, Leo.
pogo is right at 6:27. Eric doesn't understand the concept of live and let live, he is a progressive.
Fred,
My Mark and Save favorite was Lucky Logger. 11oz bottles with a game on the bottle cap. About 3.29 per 12 pack. What a deal!
Mike Harvey
Lucky Logger? Hmmm...don't know that I recall that one.
hunters and gatherers go to winco?
wow, this is 2006.
And what is this with progressive bashing, seems to me most every damn politco in Humboldt County misdefines(is that a word)
"progressives".
You know I shop at all of the above, infrequently, but it seems to my best buys have always come from the want ads, garage sales, and farmers markets, except for the beer of course, where most any place is fine.
""running red lights and bopping strangers over the head" ain't live an let live. It just happens to be your meal ticket."
You're right. I bop people with cantalopes all the time. Get paid for it too.
Fred, the reason you haven't heard of "Lucky Logger" beer is because the real name is "Lucky Lager". It's been around a LONG time. Traveling south on U.S. 101 to Garberville, on a hillside opposite the river, you can look for a washed-out wooden [now blank] sign. Back in the 50's and 60's, it used to say "Lucky Lager". It used to stand out like a sore thumb on the grassy hillside.
http://www.billboardsofthepast.com/Lucky_Lager.htm
Yeah. Ever listen to "Lucky Lager Dance Time" on KGO San Francisco week nights 1950 - 1954?
Oh, Lucky Lager. Sure, I remember that one.
winco is all the hunter gatherers have left after the progressives shut everything down, from the beaches to the wilderness, to the home depots.
What a nice day it will be when modern day "hunter-gatherers" can't drive their monster trucks on beaches and wilderness areas.
another case made, progressives cannot live and let live.
Warriors announcer Bill King exclaiming, "that shot was as smooth as a Tuborg Beer!"
What a brain cramp--Lucky Logger/ Lucky Lager...
The late Bill King was awesome calling Warrior games.
Mike Harvey
"Lucky Logger/ Lucky Lager.".
Well, they're pretty much pronounced the same.
Kids like the candy bins at Winco. I think my husband does, too.
Anonymous said...
12:40-Costco non-union. Winco non-union Wal Mart non-union Home Depot non-union
2:27 AM
Anonymous said...
Only about 13 percent of Costco's 103,000 workers are unionized,
2:32 AM
Well, Safeway is union. Are they considered "big box?"
And Safeway has a fairly high turnover in personnel, from what I've seen.
Not in McKinleyville Safeway. Most of them are lifers. There's turnover in the lower end, the kids who get their first job there, and then go off to school, but the checkers, they've been there a long time.
It is our neighborhood store, big boxes are the new neighborhood stores. They know who we are, you chat with the clerks, everybody knows everything that goes on, just a bigger version of the (long gone) little corner store.
that was a big loss to the neighborhood.
I like Winco, Costco, Safeway, Wildberries, Canned Food and Ray's, Fieldbrook Market, Murrish's by Hydesville, used to like Saunder's in Trinidad. Wildberries for lunch and specialty items, Canned Food for cheap pet food, and fun experiments, Winco and Costco for some bulk items, but they're not always cheaper than say, Spaceway, and ray's sometimes has brands that Safeway doesn't have.
There's room for everybody. Even Pierson's, Thomas, Home Depot, Copeland (new name), Schmidbauer.
It's nice to have choices and different locations.
Bit wrote: "Too bad the Safeway in Henderson Center is gone".
Henderson Center? How long ago was that? Seems to me I've read about one there many years ago where the auto supply place is now. Other than that, the only supermarket I recall in Henderson Center is Food Mart, and that was a damned shame that place closed down.
Maybe it was Food Mart! I think you are right, Fred! They were in Mck, too, where safeway is now. Ace is wherre safeway used to be. Buildings stay, businesses change. I used to like Payless in Arcata. Somehow Longs has never measured up.
Food Mart was where Rite Aid is now. Food Mart was great. Everyone loved it. The only reason it closed down was the owner died and he didn't want to burden his family with it so his will stipulated the place be sold.
Really pissed everyone in the neighborhood off, including me.
Speaking of Payless, I agree. Payless (in Eureka) used to be at Eureka Mall, then 101 Mall. Then Rite Aid bought them out. Now they're in the old Food Mart building.
I think Rite Aid sucks. Nothing against most of their employees. Most of them working at the place in Henderson Center have been working there for decades, back when it was Payless, but Rite Aid's a real turd compared to the old Payless.
About the only redeeming quality Rite Aid has is they sell fairly cheap beer (Natural Light and Keystone).
It's nice to have something in that building, though. When it was empty, the owners put fences around the parking lot so no one could use it. Talk about adding insult to injury.
yeah, I can't really explain what was different about Payless, but there's a definite difference. I still find mayslef writing 'Payless" on checks, though, have to catch myself.
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