Costco operates more than just its traditional warehouse stores.
The chain, of course, has experimented with a store in Alaska that just sells furniture and appliances. Costco also plans to open a gas station without a connected warehouse in Mission Viejo, California, in spring 2026.
Costco’s furniture and appliances store in Alaska is not a traditional warehouse in the sense that you can’t actually buy anything there.
The news warehouse “will give Alaskans a chance to see firsthand what they can buy for shipment,” a Costco director of real estate development at the company’s headquarters in Issaquah, Washington, Christian Lasley, told the Anchorage Daily News.
They can see the products in person at the warehouse, then have them shipped to their home, Lasley told the newspaper.
“We’re doing this to meet the needs of our members,” he said.
And while the traditional warehouse is the chain’s dominant type of store, Costco has a secondary store model many members may not know about.
The warehouse club also operates a number of Business Centers, stores that cater to business customers.
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A separate concept from regular Costco warehouses, business center locations are designed primarily for small businesses, not general consumers.
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Open to all Costco members, but tailored for restaurants, convenience stores, offices, and retailers.
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Offer fewer household items and no clothing, books, or jewelry. The focus is on business supplies.
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Sell in larger bulk sizes and quantities than regular Costco locations.
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Stock commercial-grade equipment like restaurant appliances, janitorial supplies, office furniture, etc.
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Carry expanded foodservice inventory including meat, produce, beverages, frozen goods, paper products.
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Open earlier hours (often 7 a.m.) to accommodate business customers.
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No optical, pharmacy, tire, or photo centers like regular Costco warehouses.
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Accept Costco Shop Cards and business payment options (credit, debit, cash).
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About 25 U.S. Business Center locations as of 2025, in major metro areas like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and Miami.
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Products can also be ordered online for delivery to businesses in many regions.
Source: Costco Business Centers
Costco sometimes develops business centers on their own to meet market needs. In most cases, however, the chain turns former warehouse locations into the business-first model when it relocates due to outgrowing a location.
CEO Ron Vachris sees Business Centers as a growth opportunity for the chain.
“On the first question about business centers, yes, we think that there’s some tremendous capacity, especially, we have now six in Canada, and we’re going to continuously really grow at a much quicker rate in Canada and the business centers,” he said during the chain’s fourth-quarter earnings call.