Second largest Costco warehouse in Canada opens in Gloucester

Ottawa’s east end just got a new Costco — the second biggest warehouse in all of Canada, in fact — and that means new jobs have made its way to Canada’s capital.

The new Costco, located at 1405 Blair Place in Gloucester, officially opened its doors to customers Thursday morning.

“The new Costco Gloucester warehouse is good news for the local community,” Renée-Dominique Dowd, Costco spokesperson, said in a statement. “We’re excited to offer an increased selection of goods and services to local residents and, with 50 new jobs created, to do our part in helping to boost the local economy amid COVID-19.”

The average salary for Costco workers is about $28 an hour.

“We are thrilled about the Costco Wholesale Gloucester relocation,” said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. “The upgraded Costco has created valuable employment opportunities for the region, and will strengthen the local economy by offering a wider selection of goods and services to our residents and visitors.”

The new location is 161,000 square-feet and features wider aisles and a large selection of food than in the past — that’s 33 per cent larger than the previous location on Cyrville Road.

It is second in size only to the 182,000-square foot Costco warehouse in St. John’s, Newfoundland. 

It also includes more specialty departments (like on-side bakery, fresh meat, expanded produce area, etc.) and includes an on-side independent optometrist, a newly-introduce hearing aid centre, photo centre, five tire centre bays, a large food court, gas station with 24 pumps, propane station and an expanded pharmacy. 

There are also 14 checkout registers and a new self-checkout section with six stations. 

Customers have 760 parking spots to park their cars, plus 150 more off-site for Costco staff, providing more parking spaces for customers. 

The first Costco location in Ottawa opened in 1991, and the company now operates 787 warehouse across the country.

The Costco currently located at 1900 Cyrville Rd. will be turned into a Costco Business Centre in the future.