I don't have to tell you that Costco is known for its bulk and budget prices — that's kind of the whole brand. And I love Costco as much as the other person. I've even perfected the craft of buying bulk for one and know what's worth it or what's simply not.
As a big Costco shopper, I really thought I'd seen it all. Then I went to Costco Business Centre, and it's truly a whole other experience.
Everything there is just mind-blowingly large, and they have a huge variety of unique and interesting products. While I was supremely disappointed there were no samples or a food court when I went (no snacks while I shop? Terrible), I enjoyed wandering around, marvelling at all the massive items.
To give you a taste of the experience, here are eight gigantic items I found at Costco Business Centre in the Vancouver area (number five is the wildest!).
More cheese than you can ever imagine
Huge portions of cheese at Costco Business Centre.
I had heard some Costco Business Centres have full Parmigiano wheels for a whopping $1,000, so I was pretty gutted my location didn't. I would have loved to see it in real life.
They did make up for it by offering the biggest selection of giant cheeses I've ever seen. The variety was huge, as were the portions. I saw:
- A 2.83-kilogram wheel of brie for $49.50
- Four kilos of gouda wrapped in red wax for $71.16
- Grana Padano wedges for $21.99/kilograms, or approximately $100 for one portion
A BIG selection of chocolate, candy and fun foods
Candy galore at Costco Business Centre.
Costco Business Centre had so many fun foods. The chocolate and candy aisle stood out to me because I'd never seen so many options in one place. Even for gum, there must have been at least 50 varieties. There were probably three aisles dedicated to sweets, all in bulk packaging — think packages of 24-48 chocolate bars for $45-60.
I saw some other fun foods around the store, too, like tis 3.2 kilograms jar of boba for $19.99.
An entire goat
The most unique find at Costco Business Centre.
My vegetarian friends may want to skip over this, but truly one of the most unique and massive things I saw at Costco Business Centre is not one, not two, but many frozen entire goats in a fridge. Just piled in there for you to grab, take away, and cook. It was unexpected, to say the least.
They were very large, too. They're around 11 kilograms and cost $159.39.
Massive jugs of pickles, mayonnaise and chicken stock
Tubs of pickles and mayonnaise at Costco Business Centre.
I'll start with one of my favourite things I found at Costco Business Centre: this 20 L bucket of sliced dill pickles ($46.99). Imagine how many hamburgers you can top with those?
Along with the pickles, there were aisles upon aisles of cooking ingredients and condiments in large jugs. Things like:
- 20 kilograms of powdered chicken stock for $114.99
- 18 litres of sliced turnips for $27.99
- 15 litres of mayonnaise for $59.99
More massive jugs of honey, peanut butter and maple syrup
Jugs of honey and maple syrup at Costco Business Centre
All your favourite spreads and syrups are also available in larger-than-life jugs. I saw:
- 15 kilograms of honey for $99.99
- 4.09 kilograms of peanut butter for $22.99
- 10 kilograms of tahini for $69.99
- 18.9 litres of maple syrup for $239.99
Industrial-size appliances and kitchen equipment
Huge cookware at Costco Business Centre.
Along with food products, Costco Business Centre has everything else owners need to run their restaurants or other food-service businesses. Right when you walk in is every kind of appliance you can think of — industrial-size. With boxes everywhere, it's kind of surreal to walk through. Fridges, freezers, warmers, deep fryers, mixers... All massive.
There are also several aisles dedicated to cookware, so I saw massive pots (the one pictured was 120 quarts for $199.99), cutting boards, and utensils that were all way larger than your typical kitchen lineup.
Pasta and rice to last a lifetime
Massive portions of pantry staples at Costco Business Centre.
Pantry staples like rice, pasta, or flour were all available in 1) huge quantities and 2) huge varieties. I saw 10+ types of rice and maybe double the types of pasta.
Most rice came in packages of 20-kilogram bags — the one pictured above (left-side photo) was $32.99, which honestly seems like a steal for that amount. Pasta-wise, I thought this box of lasagna noodles (right-side photo) was fun. They are 20-inch sheets (standard is 7-10 inches) and cost $17.99 for a 4.5-kilogram box.
Spices, spices, spices
Large quantities of spices at Costco Business Centre.
Another fun aisle at Costco Business Centre was the spice aisle. Five kilos of black pepper for $69.99? And 2.5 kilograms of garlic powder for $17.69? Seems like a good deal to me. They had all the spices a normal grocery store or normal Costco had, but at least four times bigger.
If you love shopping at Costco, find your nearest Costco Business Centre; it'll blow your mind.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.