Town dignitaries, company officials, and, of course, shoppers, were raring to go this morning as Queen Creek’s first Costco opened its doors.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley and Vice Mayor Jeff Brown started off the day at 7:30 a.m., with the store officially open for business at 8 a.m.
"I am thrilled to welcome Costco to Queen Creek! Over the years, this seems to have been the No. 1 request our residents have asked for and now they have it within minutes," Wheatley said after the opening. "Costco provides much needed additional shopping and services, provides great jobs, and is a tremendous addition to our economic vitality of Queen Creek!"
The 150,000-square-foot Costco with 800 parking spaces is at 20260 S. Ellsworth Road. The warehouse will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Sunday.
Shoppers were on hand early to partake in some retail therapy, with the store already boasting a sizable crowd.
Customers weren’t just grabbing items to buy. They also were enjoying free food samples. Some were even eating Costco’s famous pizza slices for breakfast.
Along with loading up on bulk food, electronics and clothing, Costco offers a tire service center, a hearing aid center, an optical department, pharmacy, liquor department and a gas station.
The gas station opened during the first week of January and has 32 fueling islands compared to the 16 found at other locations.
"I am so pleased that Costco has chosen to invest in our community," Brown said after the opening. "The revenue that comes from a retailer as big as Costco will fund road construction and public safety programs while helping the town council to keep property taxes and fees low."
Costco shared this information with Brown opout the opening:
Best opening gas sales in the U.S. for a new location.
Number of Costco card holders entering in the first opening hour was 1,204.
For the whole first day, 7,748 Cosctco members shopped at the store.
In July 2021 Costco officially announced it was opening a store in Queen Creek in the fall of 2021 or winter of 2022.
However, Costco officials stated in a Facebook posting in August 2022 that efforts to open the store before the end of the year had been stymied by the supply-chain problems and limited commodities affecting industries throughout the world.
In Queen Creek Costco’s case, that meant parts needed for the switchgear, which runs all the store’s electrical needs, were not arriving in time for a 2022 opening.
“So many commodities are in short supply and where the lead times for electrical componentry for instance used to be just a few months at most are now 15 months or longer. Supply chain issues are negatively impacting a host of construction projects,” according to the Facebook posting.
For a while, it looked like the opening would be pushed back until February. But by late November, Brown reported that the switchgear situation was coming together.
Brown and Wheatley met with Queen Creek’s Costco general manager and her management crew in November to tour the facility
“The place is empty today, but the signage is up around the perimeter, and we got to see where QC residents will be buying those pizza slices and rotisserie chickens (we’re talking 3,500 to maybe over 5,000 of them per week here) along with all manner of top-quality national and regional brands, with a 100% satisfaction guarantee,” Brown said.
Local developer, Carson Brown and his team at The Legacy Group have been working on this Costco land development deal at Queen Creek and Ellsworth roads. Brown and his team have worked with Costco for the past two years and are selling a portion of the site directly to the Costco group.
The Legacy Group is also in a joint venture development with Vestar for the balance of the property. The remaining acres will consist of regional and national retailers that will be at Queen Creek Crossing.
“We are super excited to have Costco come to Queen Creek,” said the town’s Economic Development Director Doreen Cott at the time the Costco was announced. “We have strong demographics and a strong trade area and more developers, regional and national retailers are gravitating to our area.”
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley @AzNewsmedia
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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