I love the samples. I love the deals. I love the cheap gas. I love the massive selection of high-quality items at amazingly reasonable prices, and because I'm fortunate enough to have storage space in my house, I love the savings that come with buying in bulk. Even as a person who lives alone, I buy a lot of my groceries from Costco.
But let's be real — the warehouse mecca can often feel like a gladiator arena where the prize is a deal on paper towels.
The parking situation is Mad Max meets musical chairs. The aisles are packed with people who've apparently entered a fugue state somewhere between the discounted TVs and the rotisserie chickens. Then you get to the checkout and prepare yourself for a series of lines: one to pay, another to prove you paid, each one testing your will to live.
As great as the savings are, it can be a stressful, overstimulating nightmare.
Enter: Costco Business Centre.
Like most people, I always assumed this was — as the name suggests — only for businesses. Even after I found out you can use your regular Costco membership to get in, I still wasn't sure why I'd ever want to. I pictured giant barrels of olive oil, cheese wheels you'd need a forklift to move, and rolls of toilet paper the size of your head that only fit in those special holders they have at the mall.
But I was wrong. And with the newest Costco Business Centre in Mississauga opening this morning, more shoppers than ever will have the chance to discover what I'm talking about.
There are now seven Costco Business Centres in Canada — Gloucester, Scarborough, Mississauga and St. Catharines in Ontario; Anjou and Saint-Hubert in Quebec; and West Edmonton in Alberta. There are also at least three more locations coming soon this fall. And despite what the name might suggest, Costco Business Centre is not just for businesses — anyone with any level of Costco membership can shop there.
After living 10 minutes away from the Gloucester Business Centre in Ottawa for more than a year, I finally decided to pay it a visit, and let me tell you... It was a revelation. A bulk-shopping paradise. A glimpse of what Costco could be without the chaos.
Honestly, I may never go back to regular Costco again. Here's why.
The parking
Seriously — have you ever seen a Costco parking lot with so many empty spots in front of the door?
At my regular Costco, parking is an absolute nightmare. Even if you arrive right at 9 a.m. when they open, somehow the parking lot is already full.
You circle round and round for what feels like hours, and the second you spot an empty space, approximately 47 other vehicles materialize out of thin air to claim it first.
And it only gets worse when you're leaving.
You'll be walking back to your car with your bounty, and as you open your trunk, it's like getting a cut in the ocean — the parking lot sharks can smell it from three rows away. Suddenly there's someone sitting there waiting, turn signal on, waiting with predatory patience while you sheepishly try to stuff 30 rolls of toilet paper into your tiny hatchback.
The Business Centre has no such problem. It's not even that the parking lot itself is bigger or better — there just aren't hordes of people treating it like the last helicopter out of a disaster zone.
The much calmer experience of parking here sets the tone for what lies ahead. From the moment you pull in and glide effortlessly into a spot, you can tell this is going to be a different — and better — experience than you're used to.
The crowds (or lack thereof)
Heaven is a place on earth — specifically, an empty Costco aisle.
Whether you love Costco or hate it, every Costco shopper knows that hands down the worst part of the shopping experience is the crowds.
They're in the parking lot (as we've already established). They're in the vestibule, bottlenecking to scan their card and enter. They're blocking up the aisles while staring blankly at a pallet of mixed nuts, seemingly paralyzed by choice. They're forming checkout lines so long you could measure them in kilometres. The sheer density of bodies transforms a quick grocery run into an endurance sport.
Not at the Business Centre. I'm genuinely not sure why — maybe regular Costco shoppers don't know it exists, or they assume it won't have what they need — but the place is blissfully, gloriously empty. It feels like I have the store to myself for a private shopping experience. If you've ever needed just one or two things from Costco but couldn't face the circus, the Business Centre is your answer.
The vibe
There's no funny business allowed at the Business Centre.
At regular Costco, the vibe is very Wild West. Every person for themselves. It's cutthroat. It's chaotic. People will park their cart diagonally across an aisle and wander off to examine something three sections over, leaving you trapped like a lab rat in a maze. Others will walk directly into you, eyes glazed over, as if disassociating from the experience entirely (honestly, can you blame them?).
The Business Centre crowd is a different breed entirely. Maybe it's because many customers are literally on the clock, grabbing supplies for their actual businesses. Maybe it's because people here know exactly what they want and have a system. Whatever the reason, these folks mean business (pun absolutely intended).
There's no aimless meandering, no carts abandoned mid-aisle. Even without self-checkouts, the lines move at lightning speed because everyone's operating like a well-oiled machine. It's refreshingly competent and stress-free.
The selection
Professional-grade cast iron skillet for $10? Don't mind if I do.
One of the biggest reasons it took me so long to finally go to Costco Business Centre was an assumption that it only had products for businesses. Not so.
According to Costco, around 70% of Costco Business Centre items are different than what is carried at a regular Costco warehouse — but that leaves 30% that are the same, and these are the standard basic food items you know and love.
What you won't find: fresh bakery (though there's packaged bread and pastries), prepared meals or rotisserie chickens, clothing, furniture, books, toys, seasonal items, electronics, jewellery, pet supplies, medical services, a tire centre or a food court. So if you're hoping to buy a new TV and grab a $1.50 hot dog while you wait to have your tires put on, this isn't your spot.
But in terms of grocery items, the Business Centre has you covered — and then some. The refrigerated sections are actually more expansive, with better meat and snack selections. Plus, it's just nice to add the store to your rotation to discover more products you'd never encounter at your neighbourhood warehouse.
The cold room
The Business Centre cold room could be its own whole store.
I know, you think that your local Costco has a cold room too, because it has two little nooks with refrigerated produce and dairy. Adorable. You haven't experienced a real cold room until you've stepped into a Costco Business Centre cold room.
This thing is massive — so big it has an entrance door at one end and a separate exit door at the other. There are multiple aisles inside where they keep produce, dairy, deli items and fresh meat. It's essentially a refrigerated warehouse within the warehouse, and walking through it feels vaguely like embarking on a polar expedition. Bring a coat — or don't say I didn't warn ya.
The snacks & drinks
Variety pack? I don't know her.
This is probably the thing that shocked me most, probably because I assumed "business" meant supplies for running a business, not supplies a business might resell. But the snack and beverage section is absolutely enormous, packed with every big-name brand you can imagine. Chips, cookies, candy bars, granola bars, crackers, sodas, juices, sports drinks, energy drinks — if it exists, they probably have it.
Even better, instead of being stuck with variety packs where you only like two flavours, you can often find single-flavour bulk boxes. No more watching the flavours you don't want multiply like gremlins in your pantry while you finish your favourites in a week. Just buy exactly what you want in glorious bulk quantity.
The portions
Goldilocks would be all over these maple syrup options.
I know what you're thinking: The standard Costco portion sizes are already comically large, and now we're talking about sizes straight-up designed for businesses? But hear me out. Yes, some items come in hilariously massive formats (we'll get to that), but many are actually packaged perfectly for regular households.
For example, bulk snacks often come as big boxes of single-serve portions — the kind resellers break apart to sell individually. So instead of one gargantuan bag of chips that'll go stale before you finish it (unless you're feeding a hockey team), you get a box of 50 small bags.
But also, in general, the Business Centre has a Goldilocks-like assortment of many of its items. Looking for canned beans? They've got packages of both reasonable 540-millilitre cans and giant 2.84-litre ones. Want mayo? They've got the standard 1.8-litre jar that they have at your normal Costco, a four-litre tub for real mayo lovers, and a 16-litre one that couldn't possibly have any appropriate household use but sure is fun to ogle at while you're shopping. You can still buy eggs by the 1.5 dozen, milk by the two to four litres, butter by the pound, and reasonable sizes of other perishables.
The hours
Morning people 🤝 Costco shoppers.
Early birds, this one's for you. Unlike regular Costco — which doesn't open until 9 a.m. and is already somehow mobbed by 9:02 — the Business Centre opens at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
Presumably this schedule caters to business owners who need to grab supplies before opening their own shops, but I love that I can go first thing in the morning before work, or bright and early on the weekend to get it out of the way.
The flip side is they close earlier — 6 p.m. every day — so evening shopping is off the table. But personally, it's a trade-off I'd take any day of the week.
The weekends
Have you ever seen such a beautiful sight?
If you've ever attempted a Saturday Costco run, you know it's a whole other level of mayhem. But sometimes you have no choice — between work and hectic weeknight schedules, often the weekends are the only time I have to do my shopping for the week.
But because most of its customers are businesses, Costco Business Centre is generally busier on weekdays than on weekends — the exact inverse of regular Costco. This means you can actually enjoy a relatively serene Saturday morning shop without feeling like you're navigating a mosh pit. For anyone who dreads weekend warehouse runs, this alone is life-changing.
Between the calmer atmosphere, abundant parking, impressive selection and those glorious early-bird hours, Costco Business Centre has completely changed how I shop. If there's one near you, it's worth checking out — you might just find your new favourite place to stock up.
