I discovered Costco Business Centers about 2 years ago and I really enjoy popping in to mine every few months to grab some unique items. I thought I’d share some info about the business centers just in case some of you have never checked one out. They are similar to a regular Costco but there are some key differences that I have noticed.
To start off with, there are a limited number of Costco Business Centers. In my area I have about 7-9 regular Costco stores but only one business center. They are designed to service the unique needs of small business owners but anyone with any Costco membership can shop there. You do not need to be a business owner. You just show your normal Costco card when you arrive. Sometimes the hours can be different than a standard Costco so you always want to check on that before heading out. They tend to open earlier and close earlier. Also these don’t have gas stations or car washes attached.
You will not find the selection of clothing, electronics, furniture or seasonal stuff in these stores but you will find items that make sense for business owners like sets of flatware, large trash cans, mops etc… I do like to take a look around because you never know what types of things might work for a normal household. For example, I picked up a set of 6 squeeze bottles to organize all the condiments in my fridge.
There are no pet care options either- no toys, no food etc.. You will find massive containers of cleaning products, to go containers and paper goods. No extras like a pharmacy and optical center. The personal care selection is very limited- skincare, medications and so on you probably want to pick up at your normal Costco.
The selection of produce seems about the same but my Business Center seems to have it more spread out. I have not seen the bakery in my Business Center either so no freshly baked cookies, breads, bagels etc… They do have the aisle with hot dog buns and premade breads just not the stuff baked in store.
In my experience, the Business Centers have way more interesting snacks and variety packs- again these are designed for business owners so 7-11 type stores, food concession stands, large corporations that provide food and drinks for employees, vending machines, cafeterias etc..
I find things like these premade sandwiches, pasta salads, snack packs… things you don’t see at a normal Costco. For those that just don’t have time to meal prep- these premade sandwiches and salads could be a fantastic item to pick up for convenient grab and go meals. I think these are perfect for travel as well- way better for you than fast food and super easy to pop into coolers. My daughter likes these little Hillshire Farms charcuterie packs that are about $3 each at the regular grocery store. I can pick up a case of them at Costco for significantly less and have them on hand for weekend softball tournaments.
The Business Centers also have massive selections of snacks, drinks, candy etc… I find a lot more variety- such as bottles of Fanta- plus they do offer specific flavors of drinks. Regular Costco stores might only have one mixed case of a specific drink but these Business Centers offer single flavors and variety packs.
There are aisles and aisles of chips, candy, gum.. think vending machine snack foods. These are great for those with big families, kids that need lunches packed etc.. The last time I shopped, I was responsible for bringing treats on game day to school for the softball team. I grabbed one of these big packs of candy for a fraction of what I would have normally paid. I do see a mixture of size options like mini candy bars, regular sizes and jumbo packs.
The majority of the items do tend to be candy, cookies, crackers and chips but you will also find a massive selection of nuts and beef jerky too.
Another area that is a notable difference is the meat and cheese selection. They have a limited selection of the normal meats and cheeses you are used to seeing, instead they have massive portions that are better suited for large parties or smaller restaurants/caterers etc.. It is always very jarring to me to see an entire pig hanging up in the freezer section but you can also find cases of chicken that are just cheaper and easy to stick in the freezer to be stocked up for months. You can also purchase an entire wheel of parmesan cheese. The refrigerated section is massive and if you are a person that likes to buy in bulk and freeze, this might be perfect for you. I have seen massive 10 lb logs of ground beef, a really big selection of cheeses (many are in huge portions) and massive tubs of cream cheese etc… The refrigerated section is so big it is worth bringing in a sweatshirt so you can take your time looking at all the options.
The freezer section tends to be very similar in my opinion but there are much larger portions and some different options. I have never seen these massive boxes of chocolate chip cookies at my normal store for example. Even though this is a huge portion, I could absolutely see a big family buying a box and just having them in the freezer to bake whenever you like.
There is no food court at the Business Centers so that might be a bummer for you but on the upside I find far less chaos when I shop. I haven’t seen self scanners at my store but the lines tend to be a fraction of a normal store.
These stores don’t offer samples but I prefer no samples and ease of going in and out of aisles to the road rage I often get at a normal store when people block aisles and create traffic jams to park in front of a sample station.
The condiment and pantry staple aisles are a little crazy. If you think normal Costco sizes are large, wait until you see 6 lb jars of Nutella. I don’t purchase much from these aisles because the sizes are just way too big but if you are a home baker etc.. you might love the savings from purchasing things like flour in the large quantity.
All in all, I really like going to the Business Center every so often. I wouldn’t swap out my regular Costco for one of these stores but if I want to stock up on things for road trips, this is a great place to visit. I do tend to buy a lot of junk food when I visit these stores but if you have kids in particular, having a bigger variety of snacks can be great to fully stock the pantry before school starts.
I do find it a more peaceful shopping experience because you just don’t see the masses and masses of people. The trade off though is that there is a lot of business orders being filled for delivery so you will see flatbed carts getting wheeled around with several boxes as employees fill the orders.
And since these stores carry such a large variety of things, you will want to keep an eye out for massive clearance deals on items they are discontinuing.
This is just a sample of a transaction I had awhile back- again it is a lot of convenience foods and unhealthy options but I actually went to stock up on snack options. I got a case of Nutella biscuits (impulse purchase because they were on clearance for $4.97), a case of Chobani shakes I normally pick up, White Cheddar Cheez Its (my store only carries the original), Uncrustables (My store only carries grape), an entire case of Willy Wallaby licorice on sale for $8, Sour Punch straws- an entire case for $9- for my daughter’s softball team, apple sauce, Popcorners and a huge box of Otis Spunkenmeyer cookie dough to keep in the freezer.
I think it is fun to see the large variety at these stores and to pick up things I normally wouldn’t as a little treat.
If you have shopped at a Business Center, I’d love to hear about your experience!
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