Mega-retailer WinCo, the fast-growing west coast grocery chain, ran the numbers, checked the demographics, and is moving into Hemet in a major way.

“WinCo does its own demographic models,” said project partner Joe Hamm. “We persuaded them to take a look at Hemet. They ran a computer model—growth, density, income, and so on. The results were very persuasive. They ran another model just to be sure. They took a look and said, ‘Yes, we should be in Hemet.’”

A 94,000-square-foot WinCo Foods supermarket will anchor a major retail center at the northeast corner of Florida Avenue and Myers Street. The 20-acre center will be known as Florida Promenade.

WinCo is a highly successful grocery retailer known for large stores and a legendary level of customer service provided by its 8,000 employee/owners. WinCo stores carry a wide selection of groceries, emphasize bulk foods, and have large deli departments.

Florida Promenade is the 20-acre retail component of a larger 52-acre project being undertaken by Jeffrey Homes. In addition to the WinCo supermarket, the center will have two 20,500 square foot sub anchors, inline shops and restaurant pads, said Hil Mercado, exclusive leasing agent with CB Richard Ellis.

Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the WinCo chain has spread across Washington, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Nevada. In fact, the name WinCo—picked by store employee/owners in a contest to rename the company—is derived from the first letters of those five western states.