By ANNIE GARDNER
Free food, long lines, bumper to bumper traffic, and mass stampeding for Pokemon game cards. Just a few of the things shoppers can expect at the grand opening of Orem’s Costco Wholesale store Tuesday.
The 155,000-square-foot store at 648 East 800 South in Orem opens its doors Tuesday after five months of construction wrought with controversy.
The grand opening celebration started Monday night with a tour of the store for city officials and continues all day Tuesday. Costco is hosting a free breakfast for the public, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Costco sent mass mailings to Orem businesses and residents inviting them to attend the grand opening gala. Mike Paulsell, Costco’s regional marketing manager is expecting a big turnout.
“We’re expecting 5,000 people to walk through the doors today,” he said.
Despite the grand opening celebration, not all of Costco’s Orem neighbors are cheering. For-sale signs are popping up throughout the once completely residential neighborhood of 800 South. Residents have complained of construction noise and traffic congestion the store will eventually bring.
Resident John Strong said he is expecting the traffic to double in the next two months as Costco moves into full operation. Strong is moving his family, but does not know how he is going to sell his home unless the city rezones his land as commercial property.
Strong said Orem is not doing much to help 800 South residents. He said the city has not contacted him or other neighbors to let them know if it will purchase the homes or not.
Strong said he also questions whether or not the city intends to widen 800 South. Costco’s driveway meets 800 South’s two lane street, making future road widening difficult.
As of Monday, traffic along 800 South was backed up between 400 and 800 East, sometimes blocking intersections and driveways.
Orem’s Costco store is Paulsell’s 21st store to open in the United States. He said Orem is a good location for the store because a huge percentage of Utah county residents live in the Provo/Orem area.
It took 50 Costco employees three weeks to stock the warehouse with a plethora of goods from Calvin Klein jeans to the famous Costco muffins. Paulsell said Costco prides itself on the quality of products it sells and the prices it offers.
“We sell name brand stuff. We don’t have to do the advertising for it, the name brands speak for themselves,” he said.
Paulsell said the number one item shoppers will be fighting for tomorrow will be Pokemon game cards.
“I don’t know why they’re so popular, but I expect they’ll be gone within a half an hour of the stores opening,” he said.
The coveted game cards are $18.99 for a set of five game packs, limit five per customer.
In the midst of crowd for the opening and the no-doubt continuing popularity of the megastore, Strong said he and his family will have to deal with the bright lights in Costco’s parking lot, the tremendous traffic and noisy shoppers.
