The long-empty former Don Quijote site in Waipahu is suddenly ground zero for a neighborhood showdown, as a proposal for a new Costco Business Center and gas station raises the specter of Zippy’s getting pushed out. Residents and neighborhood board members say they like the idea of hundreds of new jobs, but warn the project could snarl traffic on Farrington Highway and squeeze out a restaurant that has been a local fixture for decades.
During this week’s neighborhood board meeting, the tension was obvious. One board member told Costco Wholesale director of real estate development Christine Lasley, “You’re going to have a fight on your hands,” and Lasley calmly replied, “I understand, ma’am,” according to Hawaii News Now. She told the board the project could bring “200-plus” jobs to Waipahu and said there is “not enough room for all of us to exist” when talking about co-tenancy with Zippy’s. Costco representatives also said they hope to have the Business Center open by 2029 if they can clear the necessary approvals.
Zippy’s vice president of marketing Kevin Yim showed up to make it clear the local chain is not planning to leave quietly. He told the board that Zippy’s “welcomes Costco” as a neighbor but wants to stay in its current Farrington Highway spot. The company also released a statement saying it has served the Waipahu community for 55 years and wants to keep doing so for generations to come, according to Hawaii News Now. Some residents told the board they have been briefed on a version of the plan that would replace the existing Zippy’s with a gas station, a possibility that has only heightened worries about congestion and displacement.
What’s Being Proposed
The city agenda for the May 28 neighborhood board meeting lists a presentation titled “Proposed Costco Business Center & Gas Station at the former Don Quijote site” by attorney Ernest Martin, signaling that the project is already moving through the review process. The Neighborhood Commission Office agenda and its linked DocuShare file include the meeting packet and a link to handouts for residents who want to dig into the details. That listing confirms formal outreach to the community has begun, although the proposal still has to navigate multiple stages of city review and public comment.
How a Business Center Differs
Costco Business Centers are a different beast from the company’s familiar consumer warehouses. They are built for restaurants, caterers and other professional buyers, with more commercial-size products and a product mix tailored to businesses rather than families, according to Costco and industry summaries. Costco already runs a standard warehouse in Honolulu at Iwilei, and the Business Center model is structured to serve bulk-buying business customers, which helps explain why the developer pitched that configuration instead of another conventional warehouse.
Traffic, Fuel and Local Worries
Lasley told the board the fuel operation proposed for Waipahu would be larger than the existing Costco pumps at Iwilei and said the Business Center format was expected to draw a different crowd, with less single-family traffic. That assurance did not do much to ease neighborhood anxieties. Residents warned that a bigger fuel center plus bulk shopping could turn Farrington Highway into a parking lot and complicate everything from delivery schedules to daily commutes.
Those concerns are amplified by Costco’s recent efforts to grow its fuel footprint and test standalone gas sites in other locations, a trend highlighted by industry coverage from C-Store Dive. For Waipahu, the stakes are not just about fuel prices and bulk toilet paper, but whether a 55-year neighborhood restaurant survives the next wave of development.
Costco says the plan could bring more than 200 jobs to the area and help meet business demand, but every piece of the project, from the gas station layout to Zippy’s fate, still has to make it through community feedback and city approvals. Residents can expect more meetings, more presentations and many more questions before anyone breaks ground.
