Costco quietly runs several hidden stores that most regular shoppers are not even aware of

Most shoppers are aware of Costco's warehouse stores but that's not all they have.

PUBLISHED 7 HOURS AGO

A customer moves through the checkout lane with his groceries at a Costco | Getty Images | Robert Nickelsberg)

Costco is one of the most popular retailers in America, and warehouse stores are the first thing to come to mind when people think of it. However, it also has some other types of stores that customers might not be aware of. These stores might not always cater to a customer’s needs, but the people at the top believe that such outlets could play a crucial role in the growth of the business.

A general view of a Costco store | Getty Images | Photo by Kena Betancur — A general view of a Costco store (Image source: Getty Images | Photo by Kena Betancur)

According to a report in TheStreet, one of the most unique stores that Costco has is all the way up in Alaska. This one only sells furniture and appliances. However, the catch is that one can’t actually buy anything from there. Customers are provided a catalogue of items that they could purchase from the store to have shipped straight to their homes. So, one cannot carry something home from the store.

Some may say that this is not the most convenient for shoppers when it comes to furniture and appliances. A lot of people like to physically check out what they see before spending on it. Unfortunately, customers at this Costco store do not have that option. The supermarket chain is also planning to open a gas station without a connected warehouse in Mission Viejo, California, next year.

Representative image of a Costco store in Alaska. (Image credit: Getty Images | Photo by Arnaud Eeckhout) — Representative image of a Costco store in Alaska. (Image source: Getty Images | Photo by Arnaud Eeckhout)

Such stores, while unique, do not massively contribute to the business’s revenue. A type of store that does so is the business center. Costco has several business centers around the country, which mainly cater to the needs of small businesses. While regular customers are welcome, there aren't a lot of things that they can purchase. Fewer household items are on offer, and there are no clothing, books, or jewelry. Most of the products are for the needs of restaurants, convenience stores, offices, and retailers.

These stores open earlier than the regular Costco stores to accommodate the needs of these businesses, and as of 2025, around 25 of them exist in some of the biggest cities in the country, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and Miami. As far as CEO Ron Vachris is concerned, these business centers provide a great opportunity for the brand’s growth.

Image of the Costco Business Center logo. (Image source: Getty Images | Photo by Smith Collection/Gado)

“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, before adding, “In the U.S. that we see great opportunities both in new markets as well as when we relocate a building to a larger facility, the old warehouses serve a great purpose for us as far as becoming a business center because they have the right size and parking is not an issue at that level because we deliver about 60% of the goods from our trucks out there as well.”