Let’s face it. We were really over that monthly trek to Town Center, right?

I mean, justifing that 83 mile expedition for a barbecue chicken?

So we’d rationalize. Maybe there was a Mayo Clinic appointment to help offset the guilt of the $5/gallon marathon halfway to Georgia for kitchen staples.

Or maybe you’d conjure up a sudden need for new clothes, and build in additional retail therapy at Nordstrom Rack or Dillards, thinking “at least it would amortize the cost of the journey”.

(Really? Department store? So 1980!)

At 8am on Wednesday (August 3), the wait will be over.

The journey will be cut by more than half (40 miles return trip from Marsh Creek vs 83 to Town Center). St. Augustine will have its own Costco at the intersection of I-95 and World Golf Parkway, across from the entrance to World Golf Village (WGV).

Nestled in behind its gas retailing competitor, Buc-ees (more on that in a bit), Costco will open the doors to a 152,00 sq. ft. warehouse, Costco’s 30th warehouse in Florida, the 575th in the US and the 834th worldwide.

The store will boast all the usual amenities, including a gas station, a feature not available at Town Center. The facility will be larger than the Town Center location, but similar in size and design to the one in Orange Park. The General Manager, Nash Myers, said his warehouse expects to pull customers from as far south as Palm Coast and St. Augustine, and down from Bartram.

Now, about the gas … prices at the pump have lately and thankfully been coming down off their stratospheric heights. But filling up, as we know, is still pricey.

Costco gas was clearly a better deal, especially if you use premium, a saving of 30-31 cents a gallon.

As of Saturday, July 30th, Costco gas was the cheapest around. The chart above compares the wholesaler’s price (it claims top-tier fuel) with those of its next door competitor, Buc-ees. Also added to the chart is the Gate station on Mizell Rd.

There’s a saying that the most expensive vehicle to own and operate is a Costco shopping cart. It probably explains why the brains at this worldwide wholesaler place the food court right outside the checkout counters. When you’re almost gifted a hot dog and drink for $1.50, well then, this minimum $200 retail excursion had to be a wholesale bargain, right? Therein lies the genius of Costco. We come away poorer, but survey our purchases convinced we came out ahead. We trust the products, the prices and the forgiving return policy. So, Costco is on our side. That’s the psychology, and Costco’s success suggests millions of shoppers agree.

Back to Wednesday’s opening …

If you’re into retail festivities (at the wholesale level, of course), Costco WGV will have a ribbon cutting at 7:30 Wednesday morning, before opening the doors to customers at 8:00am. GM Nash said there won’t be any special Day-1 pricing, but there will be some special, difficult-to-get items like a PS5 and an SBox- X, if you’re into that stuff. If you go, you’re wise to brace for some sort of Opening Day shopping mayhem.

Finally, a word about the staff. For someone four days from a big store opening, a salute to Nash Myers, the GM. He was welcoming and helpful. And the employees out there on the floor getting things ready greeted me with a “Hello”, or “How you doin?” and made eye contact. Maybe the geniality will disappear under the daily stress of stocking and re-stocking shelves. But let’s hope not. It was pleasant.