When I was a kid on Long Island, New York, I grew up going to a wholesale club with my parents: BJ’s.
I loved running around the store and was always shocked by how it seemed to carry anything you could ever want. Then, when I was in college in New Orleans, I’d tag along with friends to the Costco there, which was just as fun to wander around.
Over the summer, I finally signed up to Costco myself, joining the 2.5 million other millennials and Gen-Zers who have decided it’s the newest “hottest club.”
Costco’s CFO Gary Millerchip said in September that half of its new members over the last year are under 40. As Business Insider’s Dominick Reuter noted, the younger generation is more concerned with finding deals and saving money than ever before.
I now live in New York City and, after joining Costco, assumed I would order products online. That was before I learned there was a Costco in Manhattan. I couldn’t quite grasp the concept of Costcos — which are more common in suburban areas — in the city: How could you transport the giant bulk items without a car?
Still, I needed to know: Is a New York City Costco the same as the suburban Costco I’ve visited in the past? Did both locations sell the same items? And would I see people on the city streets lugging giant packs of toilet paper?
In September, I paid two Costcos a visit: the one in East Harlem, and one in the Long Island town of Westbury.
Here’s what it was like to shop at both locations.
There are eight Costco locations on Long Island. I visited the Westbury location, which is about 33 miles outside New York City.When I arrived, I was struck by just how large — and full — the parking lot was. I went on a Tuesday in the middle of the day, and it was a zoo.The shopping carts were in front of an attached but separate liquor store. In New York, grocery stores can’t sell hard alcohol.After flashing my membership card and being waved in by an employee, I saw just how large this location is. It felt like an airplane hangar.One of the first sections you see when you walk in is the technology section with laptops and tablets.There are also plenty of huge TVs.From across the floor, I could see a hearing-aid center, which I didn’t even know Costco had.This location was also offering flu shots.I wandered through the aisles, struck by how huge this place and its products were.There was a display of gift cards for well-known brands like AMC, Instacart, and DoorDash, and there was also a Topgolf section. There is one Topgolf location on Long Island.In the center of the store was the clothing section. It seemed endless, with sweaters, jackets, pants, activewear, and more.I was immediately drawn to the Costco merch. I ended up purchasing a sweatshirt for $19.99.
Source: Business Insider
The furniture section was also in the center. However, according to Costco devotees, the store’s layout changes constantly, making shopping there like a “treasure hunt.”
Source: Business Insider
I was taken aback to see that a giant couch was for sale. Would I find the same selection of furniture at the Manhattan store?Nearby was a large table filled with books — I didn’t even know Costco sold books.It wasn’t just dingy paperbacks, either. I could’ve bought the Pulitzer Prize winner “Demon Copperhead” for $12.99. The same book is $21.99 at Barnes and Noble.There was a sizable outdoor section with tents, firepits, a blow-up tub, and more.Another surprise was the garden section. There were rows of trees, mums, and other flowers.There were even delicately wrapped orchids.And, of course, as it’s officially fall, there were bins and bins of pumpkins.Fittingly, the Halloween costumes were nearby. There weren’t that many options to choose from.But the decor is where Costco really shines. I walked by a 7-foot-tall werewolf and almost jumped.There was more candy than at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.There was also a lot of Disney merchandise for Halloween, which I didn’t expect.For example, there were huge “Nightmare Before Christmas” plushies. That’s my hand for scale.Even though it was only September when I visited, a lot of Christmas decorations were already out.Like, a lot.There were also lawn ornaments, like this 3-foot penguin.If you ever need to wrap presents, Costco is the place to go.As I made my way toward the back of the store, I started seeing more food and drinks, like these crates of beer.There’s a bakery, a rotisserie section, a deli, and another meat section at the back of this location.There are aisles and aisles of meat products.I am a single person who lives with a roommate. It would take us months to get through all of this pork shoulder.I have a car available on Long Island, so it would be relatively easy and quick for me to transport all this refrigerated food home — but not in NYC.I turned around to see just how big the store was once more. This is only half of it.And I didn’t even mention the separate produce room.That’s where there were crates of fruits and veggies. The large containers of strawberries would rot before I could eat them all.There’s also a milk and eggs room. This area was particularly crowded during my visit.As I exited with my meager single bag of purchases — a sweatshirt, a book, a pack of cookies, ornaments, and a box of egg bites — I wondered how I would fare at the NYC location.As I walked to my car, I noticed people loading up their trunks with cartfuls of items. Would — and could — people be doing that in the city, too?A week later, I visited the East Harlem Costco, one of four Costcos in New York City. There’s another one in Brooklyn and two in Queens.As I walked from the bus stop, I noticed people pushing their own carts, like this one, toward the store. That’s the easiest way to transport groceries in NYC.This Costco is located inside the East River Plaza, a shopping complex that opened in 2009.
Source: The New York Times
It’s a multi-level mall with an Aldi, Bob’s Discount Furniture, and Planet Fitness.There is a parking garage that all shoppers share, but it’s not free. According to the US Census’ American Community Survey, just 22.7% of Manhattan households have a car anyway.
Source: Hunter Urban
I took the bus to get to Costco. On my way up, I was already thinking about how difficult it would be to transport multiple bulk items without a car.However, the view of the East River and Randall’s Island was much nicer than the one I had on Long Island.Unlike at the location in the suburbs, I had to physically scan my membership card to get in. I was lucky it wasn’t that busy since this could easily create a bottleneck at the entrance.
Source: Business Insider
The store was generally set up the same way as the Long Island location, down to the electronics section being the first thing I saw.There was an eyeglasses and eye-exam area, just like in Westbury.The gift cards were in the same spot, but there were different options. I spotted cards for Mighty Quinn’s, a New York-based barbecue chain.
Source: Business Insider
There were also gift cards for Subway and Crumbl, a cookie chain.Walking around, I was struck by how annoying it would be to cart a case of water bottles back to my apartment. Plus, I didn’t have space for them.The ceiling at this Costco was much lower, making it appear smaller, even though the location is 110,000 square feet.
Source: The New York Times
The furniture selection was much more limited than in the suburban store. There were only smaller pieces — there were no giant couches in sight.This was the totality of the outdoor section: two types of lawn chairs.However, this Costco offered Jets and Giants merch, which the Long Island one did not.There was no plants section — just a small display of pre-made bouquets. It makes sense since most people in NYC don’t have space to garden.Both locations had Halloween decorations to choose from.But there were some slight differences. This Mickey-shaped pumpkin was only for sale in NYC.I found the Harlem costume selection to be similarly lacking.Christmas stuff was out here, too.The same ornaments I bought in Westbury were here, too — and for the same price.There were the same separate rooms, like the produce room.And the dairy, milk, and eggs room.The meat and bakery sections were almost identical. I even spotted the “cake box” that Costco fans love.
Source: Business Insider
This location had self-checkout, which I hadn’t noticed at the Long Island store.Overall, this store was smaller and lacked some items I’d seen in the suburbs, like big furniture, outdoor items, books, and plants. It makes sense that an urban store wouldn’t stock most of these.I’m seriously questioning my Costco membership now — I might keep it so I can get certain items shipped. But buying in bulk is difficult in NYC from both a transportation and storage perspective.
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