"Where Olmsted County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:36:49, May 15th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Though I hated to see you reference Glenn Beck by name [Three Times ... [Read More]
- 11:42:07, May 10th 2013 - yenken - I feel very sorry for those who have commented do far, as when you stand fa ... [Read More]
- 12:10:25, Apr 26th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Mr. "Cabtrom's" garbage-out[burst]--in response to Ms. Reisner's w ... [Read More]
- 9:51:50, Apr 24th 2013 - jeff pischke - To Jerry Grehl, the number to the fillmore county sheriffs office is 7 ... [Read More]
- 9:27:24, Apr 22nd 2013 - Cabtrom - Blah blah blah, garbage in garbage out! ... [Read More]
- 7:00:49, Apr 11th 2013 - Donald Pierce - Col. Stan Gudmundson hit most of the important nails squarly on the h ... [Read More]
- 12:44:54, Apr 4th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - My compliments to Ms. Hammer for giving us well-crafted "Rachel Rea ... [Read More]
- 5:09:06, Apr 3rd 2013 - truthiness - I see this is dated April 1. That explains it! ... [Read More]
- 12:04:33, Apr 3rd 2013 - Frank W. Hawthorne - Say WHAT?!? Stan's American-Pie [In SKY] is Falling--Not Again? ... [Read More]
- 12:40:21, Mar 29th 2013 - Jacob - It's a shame that so few people care about making their voices heard. If we ... [Read More]
Costco opens in Rochester
Mon, Nov 19th, 2012
Posted in Rochester Business Announcements
Posted in Rochester Business Announcements
Comments
Costco, which calls its stores “membership warehouses,” opened its newest facility last Friday. It’s the long-awaited Rochester membership warehouse on the northeast corner of 19th Street Northwest and West Circle Drive.
Mike Sharpe, operations manager of gasoline and car wash, came from corporate headquarters in Issaquah, Wash., for the grand opening. “We are happy to be in this community,” he said, “and hope they’re happy to have us.”
They must be. Lines were long and the parking lot jammed, just as they were the evening before the launch. Preview night drew a crowd of several hundred who browsed the store’s lineup of departments: grocery, clothing, furniture, electronics, tires, pharmacy, optical, hearing aids and more.
(Regarding electronics: The big-screen TVs look much bigger at home than they do in the store, said Charlotte Sandberg, marketing membership manager at the sprawling (147,700 square feet) facility.)
Preview night attendees looked and admired but didn’t buy. They couldn’t. The only things for sale were Costco memberships and gasoline - the Costco complex includes a gas station - and the store’s checkout counters were serving as tables for people dining on free food samples.
Among the samples were hot dogs, a Costco food court staple. A quarter-pound, 100 percent beef hot dog, or Polish sausage, and a 20-oz. drink (with refill) sells for $1.50, the same price since 1985.
Jim Sinegal, who co-founded the company in 1983, strolled the aisles and chatted with the browsers. “He attends every opening,” Sharpe said.
The brightly lit store, with row upon row of glowing fixtures, is energy efficient, said Assistant Warehouse Manager Beth Minnock. Pointing out skylights, she said, “They let in a lot of natural light, and the artificial lights adjust automatically.”
Costco Rochester hired approximately 200 area workers, selected from more than 3,000 applicants.
Rochester’s is the eighth Costco in Minnesota and only the second outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The other, in Baxter, opened Oct. 24. Costco Rochester is the 447th in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the 616th in the world.
Its reign as newest will be fleeting, however, because the company is on a building spree. On Nov. 9, Costco Farragut, Tenn., opened and next day became second newest to Costco Concordville, Penn. Nov. 14 was start-up day for Costco East Peoria, Ill., followed on the 15th by Costco Sun Prairie, Wis.
Then came Rochester which will enjoy a 12-day tenure before Oshawa, Ont., Canada, intervenes. After that, three more Costco membership warehouses will begin business before year’s end.
Mike Sharpe, operations manager of gasoline and car wash, came from corporate headquarters in Issaquah, Wash., for the grand opening. “We are happy to be in this community,” he said, “and hope they’re happy to have us.”
They must be. Lines were long and the parking lot jammed, just as they were the evening before the launch. Preview night drew a crowd of several hundred who browsed the store’s lineup of departments: grocery, clothing, furniture, electronics, tires, pharmacy, optical, hearing aids and more.
(Regarding electronics: The big-screen TVs look much bigger at home than they do in the store, said Charlotte Sandberg, marketing membership manager at the sprawling (147,700 square feet) facility.)
Preview night attendees looked and admired but didn’t buy. They couldn’t. The only things for sale were Costco memberships and gasoline - the Costco complex includes a gas station - and the store’s checkout counters were serving as tables for people dining on free food samples.
Among the samples were hot dogs, a Costco food court staple. A quarter-pound, 100 percent beef hot dog, or Polish sausage, and a 20-oz. drink (with refill) sells for $1.50, the same price since 1985.
Jim Sinegal, who co-founded the company in 1983, strolled the aisles and chatted with the browsers. “He attends every opening,” Sharpe said.
The brightly lit store, with row upon row of glowing fixtures, is energy efficient, said Assistant Warehouse Manager Beth Minnock. Pointing out skylights, she said, “They let in a lot of natural light, and the artificial lights adjust automatically.”
Costco Rochester hired approximately 200 area workers, selected from more than 3,000 applicants.
Rochester’s is the eighth Costco in Minnesota and only the second outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The other, in Baxter, opened Oct. 24. Costco Rochester is the 447th in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the 616th in the world.
Its reign as newest will be fleeting, however, because the company is on a building spree. On Nov. 9, Costco Farragut, Tenn., opened and next day became second newest to Costco Concordville, Penn. Nov. 14 was start-up day for Costco East Peoria, Ill., followed on the 15th by Costco Sun Prairie, Wis.
Then came Rochester which will enjoy a 12-day tenure before Oshawa, Ont., Canada, intervenes. After that, three more Costco membership warehouses will begin business before year’s end.