By Morf Morford, Tacoma Daily Index

Tacoma’s 6th Avenue is a street/region/neighborhood/cluster of neighborhoods like no other in Tacoma. Few cities have a single street as varied as Tacoma’s 6th Avenue.

The Index has explored 6th Avenue before; here and here, among other places.

And, true to form, Tacoma’s 6th Avenue is changing again.

A second WinCo is opening in Tacoma.

We’ve had one on South 72nd for several years. The one on 6th Avenue has finally opened as of February 6th.

If you are not familiar with WinCo, it is the home of “the millionaire grocery clerks” thanks to being employee-owned. In other words, the ultimate profits don’t go to a distant CEO with a multi-million dollar salary; the profits go to all the workers.

You can see more on their profit-sharing program here.

As to the name, WinCo is a combination of the words Winning and Company. By a cosmic fluke, WinCo also contains the first letter of every state where it first began (Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California & Oregon).

What sets WinCo apart

WinCo is the ultimate no-frills shopping experience. To keep their expenses down, they do not accept credit cards – but they do accept debit cards and personal checks. In a pinch, you can get a money order at most, if not all stores.

They don’t spend much of their budget on flyers or advertising. And you bag your own groceries. No membership is required.

Much of their food is sold in bulk. From candies to herbs and spices, to beans and rices and other basics – and much more – you can buy as much (or as little) as you might need – one source told me that, for a holiday recipe, she needed one Bay leaf. So, instead of buying a package, she bought a single Bay leaf – for about three cents.

The New Tacoma store offers about 700 items available in bulk.

Don’t miss the deli

If you happen to be hungry on the west end of 6th Avenue, be sure to check out the deli at WinCo. There are freshly made potato salads and a mix of sandwiches and soups either pre-made or made-to-order – and fresh sushi made on site – $5 on Wednesdays. WinCo bread is baked daily.

6th Avenue is on the move

If you know 6th Avenue, you know that some areas are commercial and some are residential. Some are flourishing and some are not.

The new WinCo is in what had been an abandoned Safeway store. There had been three additional Safeway stores in the area – one on Pearl, one on Proctor and the one on Highland Hill (6th Avenue).

There are other grocery stores (including a Dollar Tree and Grocery Outlet) nearby. I spoke to two of them about the new WinCo.

At first some were worried that WinCo would take away business, and then one told me that they were on such different business models that it probably wouldn’t make much difference.

My experience is that, in terms of business of almost any kind, the more customers, the better. More people will have more of a reason to be drawn to that part of 6th Avenue.

There are several apartment complexes (existing or currently under construction) within walking distance of the 6th Avenue WinCo. And there already was a good-sized residential area close by. Many customers or workers could easily walk or bike to the new store.

The new WinCo store on 6th Avenue is expected to hire about 100 local workers.

And, presumably, in just a few years, we might see more than a few “millionaire grocery clerks” in the neighborhood.

The store opens at 5 a.m. and closes at 1 a.m.