Vallejo's new Costco opened its doors at 7:30 a.m. Friday at 860 Admiral Callaghan Lane, and the line to get in had already wrapped around the building. Some shoppers had camped outside for two nights just to be first through the doors of the 152,000-square-foot warehouse, which replaces the city's original Costco on Plaza Drive after a 15-year effort to build it.
A Longtime Shopper Joins Opening-Day Crowd One longtime Costco member was among the early arrivals. Valentino Hicks, a 20-year Costco member, showed up around 6:30 a.m. after finishing a 12-hour overnight shift, and described the scene as something out of a theme park. “This feels like Disneyland,” Hicks said. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Costco expected as many as 10,000 visitors over the course of opening day, and the parking lot was overflowing well before noon.
Shawna Gilroy, president of the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce, credited the city's economic development staff with locating the land and working with developer Lewis Retail Centers to get the store built. “This is a new beginning and a right step toward economic development happening in the community,” Gilroy said, comparing Costco's potential economic impact in Vallejo to that of large area employers like Six Flags and area hospitals, per the same report. Jeb Elmore, vice president of acquisitions for Lewis Retail, said it was exciting to finally see results after years of work with the city.
A Decade and a Half in the Making
Costco's plans for a replacement store in Vallejo date back to 2011, according to reporting cited by the Chronicle from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The project hit a legal snag in 2020 when Safeway filed a lawsuit alleging the city failed to properly analyze the development's environmental impacts under state law. That suit was later dismissed, according to the Vallejo Sun, and the city and developer reached a settlement with Safeway in 2022 after the dismissal, the Chronicle reports.
The old Costco at 198 Plaza Drive, which opened in 1989, has now closed for good. The new site is noticeably bigger: at 152,000 square feet, it includes a food court, tire center, pharmacy, optical department and hearing aid center. It's also now the Bay Area's 31st Costco, not counting business centers.
Gas Pumps, Grand Plans, and a Toast to Vallejo
The new location's fuel station is also a major upgrade, though reports differ on the exact pump count. The Chronicle reported 32 gas-pump fueling positions, double the number at the old site, while KTVU reported the expansion goes from 16 to 30 pumps and will add electric-vehicle charging stations. Vallejo Public Information Officer Robert Briseño told the station that the larger, more accessible site may generate increased sales-tax revenue to support municipal services.
To mark the occasion, Costco sold a few hyper-local specialty items on opening day: bottles of California cabernet sauvignon engraved with Carquinez Bridge and Vallejo imagery, and cans of Mac Dre IPA from Livermore's Altamont Beer Works. Vallejo City Manager Harry Black said in a statement that the new warehouse is a vote of confidence in the city, adding that Costco strengthens Vallejo's position as a regional retail destination and contributes to the city's sales tax base, funding public safety, street maintenance and other services.
Costco Anchors a Bigger Vallejo Development
The new Costco serves as the anchor for Fairview at Northgate, a 51-acre mixed-use development still under construction around the store. A medical office, a Wells Fargo branch and a Raising Cane's are slated to open at the site next year. Construction on 245 homes planned for the development is expected to begin in 2027, per the Vallejo Sun.
That housing number grew over time: the Vallejo Planning Commission voted unanimously to amend the Fairview at Northgate Master Plan, increasing the number of homes on the site from 178 to 245, according to the Vallejo Sun. The Chronicle reported that Costco planned to open 14 more stores across the U.S. and Canada by year-end, none in California. Costco CEO Ron Vachris has said 33 more stores are set to open across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe in 2027, including five relocations, the Chronicle reported.
Other Bay Area Costco Plans Still in Limbo
Vallejo isn't the only Bay Area city angling for a Costco. A long-planned store at the Westgate Shopping Center in San Jose has faced backlash from nearby residents and remains unbuilt. And in Oakland, a city committee advanced an exclusive negotiating agreement with Costco in June to discuss developing a warehouse grocery store on 23 acres at the former Oakland Army Base in West Oakland, a proposal that could still take several years to materialize if it moves forward at all.
It wouldn't be Oakland's first attempt. Costco previously pitched a warehouse and gas station on a 15-acre portion of the same former Army base back in 2005, but those talks fell through. City officials estimate a completed Oakland store could generate about $3 million in annual revenue, mostly through sales tax, and create roughly 400 jobs paying an average of $32 an hour.
