Costco operates more than just its traditional warehouse stores.

The chain, of course, has experimented with a store that just sells furniture and appliances in Alaska. Costco also plans to open as gas station without a connected warehouse in in Mission Viejo, California in Spring 2026.

Costco’s furniture and appliances store in Alaska is not a traditional warehouse in the sense that you can’t actually buy anything there.

The news warehouse “will give Alaskans a chance to see firsthand what they can buy for shipment,” a Costco director of real estate development at the company’s headquarters in Issaquah, Washington, Christian Lasley, told the Anchorage Daily News.

They can see the products in person at the warehouse, then have them shipped to their home. Lasley told the newspaper.

“We’re doing this to meet the needs of our members,” he said. 

And, while the traditional warehouse is the chain’s dominant type of store, Costco also has a secondary store model, many members may not know about.

The warehouse club also operates a number of Business Centers, stores that cater to business customers.

What is a Costco Business Center?

  • A separate concept from regular Costco warehouses, business center locations are designed primarily for small businesses, not general consumers.
  • Open to all Costco members, but tailored for restaurants, convenience stores, offices, and retailers.
  • Offer fewer household items and no clothing, books, or jewelry. The focus is on business supplies.
  • Sell in larger bulk sizes and quantities than regular Costco locations.
  • Stock commercial-grade equipment like restaurant appliances, janitorial supplies, office furniture, etc.
  • Carry expanded foodservice inventory including meat, produce, beverages, frozen goods, paper products.
  • Open earlier hours (often 7 a.m.) to accommodate business customers.
  • No optical, pharmacy, tire, or photo centers like regular Costco warehouses.
  • Accept Costco Shop Cards and business payment options (credit, debit, cash).
  • About 25 U.S. Business Center locations as of 2025, in major metro areas like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and Miami.
  • Products can also be ordered online for delivery to businesses in many regions.
    Source: Costco Business Centers
Costco has turned some former warehouses into Business Centers.

Costco plans more business centers

Costco sometimes develops business centers on their own to meet market needs. In most cases, however, the chain turns former warehouse locations into the business-first model when it relocates due to outgrowing a location.

CEO Ron Vachris sees Business Centers as a growth opportunity for the chain.

“On the first question about business centers, yes, we think that there’s some tremendous capacity, especially, we have now 6 in Canada, and we’re going to continuously really grow at a much quicker rate in Canada and the business centers,” he said during the chain’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

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The growth opportunities are not limited to Canada.

“In the U.S. that we see great opportunities both in new markets as well as when we relocate a building to a larger facility, the old warehouses serve a great purpose for us as far as becoming a business center because they have the right size and parking is not an issue at that level because we deliver about 60% of the goods from our trucks out there as well,” he added.

Vachris believes Business Centers could work in any Costco market.

“We see a good runway for us, both U.S. and Canada and potential in international markets for the Business Centers as well,” he shared.

He also made it clear that Costco will look at Business Center opportunities beyond just repurposing former warehouses.

“As far as looking at the additional property that we need to, we did — we will take that into account if we have got to get into the right market and then how we can create value for any outparcels or additional properties that are nearby us that could open up opportunities for us to expand in the right place. So we are open to those opportunities as well,” he said.