Dozens of customers lined up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday morning as Costco opened its new south London, Ont., location.
The new Costco is located at 3140 Dingman Dr., which is just across the street from the former south-end location at 4131 Wellington Rd. S.
Just like its west London counterpart, the south location now has a gas station, something Costco member and St. Thomas resident Ria Murphy has been waiting a long time for.
“I’m so thankful. Finally, I don’t have to go up to the north Costco,” said Murphy, who arrived soon after 6:30 a.m. to explore the new location and shop for sales.
“I’m a Costco fan. Everything’s Costco.”
Samantha Morris and Brandon Brun were the first two customers to make a purchase, walking out with a new television and a glowing review of the new Costco.
“It’s a lot bigger, but it’s good,” Morris said.
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“You’ve got gas now too, which is nice. So overall, better,” Brun added.
George Aitcheson had similar things to say and found himself especially impressed with the new parking lot, which features multiple access points and is much larger than the old one across the street.
“You had to drive around and wait for somebody to leave before you get a parking spot, especially at peak times like Christmas,” Aitcheson said of the old parking lot.
“It’s great. The only thing is now, you’ve got to remember where you parked.”
With more than 30 years in the city, Marc-André Bally, senior vice-president of Costco’s eastern Canada operations, says the London-area member base has always been very loyal.
“That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to move. We felt we owed it to our members to give them a fresher, bigger state-of-the-art facility with all of the ancillary businesses that we have in the other locations, including gas and hearing aid,” Bally said.
“It truly is ideal for us because really, we don’t want to disrupt the habits of our members and make them drive further. So for us, when we have an opportunity to move right across the street, … it’s a win for us and it’s certainly a win for our members.”
The new south London Costco measures just over 150,000 sq. ft., which is about 20 per cent larger than its predecessor across the street.
Along with a gas station, a larger parking lot and a hearing aid centre, the new location also provides more product offerings and led to the creation of 40 new jobs, according to Costco.
The amenities of the former south London Costco are still provided, such as a tire service centre, a food court, a pharmacy and an optical department.