Eugene-based Bi-Mart Corp. announced Wednesday it has signed a lease to occupy the former Ray’s Food Place site in west Sisters by this summer. The 70-store, member-based chain — which already has stores in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras and La Pine — has several thousand members in the area, said Don Leber, director of advertising and marketing.

The discount department store will not compete with Ray’s, which relocated to a new location about a half-mile to the northwest in November, Leber said. “I would say we complement each other,” he said.

Remodeling has begun on portions of the 28,500-square-foot store, Leber said. Ray’s had been in the store, which was built in 1978 as Pioneer Sentry, since 1995.