Southern Utah’s 2nd WinCo Location Will Be In Cedar City

Cedar City’s Economic Development Director David Johnson joined the Big Picture Morning Show on KSUB radio this week to confirm what many residents had been buzzing about: WinCo Foods is officially coming to town.

“Yeah, super exciting news,” said Johnson during the broadcast. “We’ve been meeting with WinCo and some of their top real estate staff. WinCo’s based out of Boise, Idaho.”

Although the city itself did not negotiate with WinCo directly—since no incentives were requested—developers worked with the grocery chain to evaluate several potential locations before selecting the Cedar City Marketplace, also known as the Nigro Development. The site is located just off Exit 62 on the north end of town, near the Love’s Travel Stop and across from 2nd East.

Johnson said the choice came down to one key factor: “They knew it was the property where they could build this new WinCo store the fastest possible.”

Founded in Boise in 1967, WinCo Foods is a warehouse-style supermarket chain that focuses solely on grocery items. The employee-owned company operates dozens of stores across the western United States and has been expanding aggressively in Utah in recent years. Cedar City’s new WinCo will follow the company’s first southern Utah location in Washington County.

Plans for the Cedar City store call for an 80,000-square-foot facility that will serve as the anchor for a larger 175,000-square-foot shopping center. “The key to developing a new retail area is to get that anchor,” said Johnson. “WinCo is that anchor.”

He emphasized that despite Cedar City’s modest population—around 42,000 in the city and 65,000 countywide—the area attracts significant commercial activity from rural residents and tourists. “Our Walmart in Cedar City is the number one grossing Walmart in the state of Utah,” Johnson said. “People drive 90 minutes to shop here.”

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That rural draw, combined with steady, moderate growth and a healthy tourism industry, is helping make the case to national retailers. “We’re not growing as rapidly as maybe some of our neighbors, which I think locally we appreciate,” Johnson said. “But I’m able to show that even though we have a moderate growth, we’re still drawing a big rural draw.”

North Side Grocery Store Priority To City Leaders

Johnson also revealed that the push for a grocery store on the north end of town came from city leadership when he first started in his role. “One of the first initiatives that the mayor, council, city administration gave me was, David, find a grocery store on the north end of town.”

Additional development is already happening in the area, including a Starbucks. There is also a  Seven Brothers Burgers coming in on the south side of Cedar City near the Swig location. for the north side, Johnson said the WinCo project is just the beginning, with multiple developers showing interest.

Beyond retail, Johnson noted that manufacturing growth remains a focus, with seven manufacturers expressing interest in Iron County. “We have a rotational molding manufacturer who’s going to be opening a new facility this fall,” he said.

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With continued momentum in retail, manufacturing, tourism, and the arts, Johnson expressed optimism about the region’s future. “There’s just so much to love about Cedar City and Iron County,” he said.

You can hear our entire interview with David Johnson in the podcast below.