Anticipation ran high as crowds gathered in the early hours, with some dedicated fans reportedly lining up as early as 1:30 a.m. to be among the first through the doors.
At 6:30 a.m., Brantford Councillor Michael Sullivan cut the ceremonial ribbon, marking the official opening of Ontario's latest giant warehouse.
An inside look at the new Costco store in Brantford.Costco | Handout
"The new 159,098 square-foot location features wide aisles and an extensive selection of food offerings. It also includes a large variety of specialty departments, such as an on-site bakery, fresh meat, expansive produce area [and a] rotisserie chicken section," Costco told Narcity.
Among the standout features is Ontario's first Costco sushi bar, a new addition that has created a bit of a buzz across the province.
An inside look at the new Costco store in Brantford.Costco | Handout
While Costco locations across Canada are known for their food courts, this section takes it a step further with fresh sushi prepared in-store.
The sushi counter offers an eight-piece California crab roll, made with Pacific blue crab, Japanese sushi rice, creamy avocado, and crisp cucumber, served alongside wasabi, soy sauce, ginger, and chopsticks for an authentic experience, InsideHalton reports.
"I'm very proud to be part of this event, as Costco Brantford is the only Costco serving chef-plated sushi east of Vancouver," Sullivan shared in a LinkedIn post, expressing his excitement over the unique offerings.
An inside look at the new Costco store in Brantford.Costco | Handout
Shoppers can also expect additional upgrades to the food court, where they can now create their own sausage and burger combinations—another new option not currently available in other Ontario Costco warehouses.
An inside look at the new Costco store in Brantford.Costco | Handout
The Brantford warehouse also joins other Costco locations in Ontario in offering beer, wine, champagne and other ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, thanks to recent changes in provincial legislation expanding alcohol sales.
Besides its food attractions, the Brantford Costco is a full-service destination that houses a pharmacy, optical and hearing aid centres, and five tire centre bays, as well as an impressive 813 parking spots. Shoppers will also find 14 checkout registers and a new self-checkout section with six stations.
"Like all other Costco Wholesale warehouses, the new Brantford location offers more than 3,800 high-quality items at unbeatable value," a spokesperson told Narcity.
An inside look at the new Costco store in Brantford.Costco | Handout
The new store is expected to bring around 180 permanent jobs and 80 seasonal roles to the area.
This opening also boosts Ontario's Costco count to 42 locations—the most of any province—bringing the grand total across Canada to 110 stores.
Happy shopping, Brantford!
Exterior of a Costco location in Ontario.
Lisa Belmonte at Costco.
Costco ribbon cutting. 
