Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
SHARON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — To say Costco shoppers were excited about the opening of a new store in Sharon on Wednesday would be a massive understatement.
"There were members that flew in from San Francisco and got here before our CEO arrived last night," store General Manager T.J. Cleary told WBZ NewsRadio.
That member and several others were specifically interested in the limited-edition bourbon Costco sells at some store openings, but many were just here to take a peek inside.
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This store is the first new Massachusetts location for the popular wholesaler in more than 20 years. Sitting off South Main Street at 160 Old Post Road, it includes a food court, gas station, tire service center, pharmacy, optical department, and hearing aid center. It's also the first Costco in the northeast to sell sushi. This store, like its Dedham counterpart, boasts a reasonably large Kosher section.
"It’s beautiful," one shopper from Rhode Island said. "Best Costco we’ve been to yet."
"Well laid out, the parking lot was very easy to maneuver, gas station’s huge," another Rhode Island shopper gushed.
Those Rhode Island shoppers are a key demographic, as there are no Costco stores in that state. The new store is about 20 minutes from the Rhode Island border.
1 of 2 Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
2 of 2 Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
For Sharon residents, the new Costco is a long time coming. It is a flagship at the Sharon Gallery, a mixed-use development visible from I-95. The town had been trying to attract one store or another on this land for close to two decades. Those plans included Target in the 2010s, then Market Basket, before finally settling on the Costco.
"I actually was in high school when the idea first came out and the concept of Sharon Gallery, or at the time I think it was even called Sharon Commons, [has] been years in the making," said Sharon Select Board Member Hanna Switlekowski.
"It’s just humbling that the people of the community are willing to welcome us in," Cleary said.
You need a Costco membership to buy most things at Costco, but there are a handful of exceptions Massachusetts like alcohol sales.
Most Gold Star and Business memberships cost $65 a year and an Executive membership costs $130 a year.
WBZ’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.