Bulking up: Costco members prepare for Wednesday’s opening of Portage Avenue warehouse By: Scott Billeck Posted: 5:26 PM CST Monday, Nov. 10, 2025

Come Wednesday, longtime Costco shopper Carrie Ryland won’t be making her usual grocery run to the retailer’s St. James location.

“I’m happy about it,” the west Winnipeg resident said, standing outside the retail giant’s front entrance Monday at 1315 St James St. She said the move to the city’s newest Costco, at 4077 Portage Ave., in Headingley near Assiniboia Downs, will make her trips far easier.

“It will be about a five-minute drive now as opposed to a 20-minute one,” she said. “It will be bigger, and there will be a gas station, which there isn’t here.”

The new 166,894-square-foot warehouse, situated on 15.4 acres including a parking lot and gas bar, is set to open Wednesday and will be the city’s largest Costco. Initial renders showed the parking lot would have more than 900 stalls.

The St. James location, the city’s smallest, will temporarily close Tuesday at 6 p.m. before reopening as a Costco Business Centre, a format that will still offer some food items but cater mainly to businesses, with commercial kitchen supplies, janitorial products, and office necessities.

Clothing, seasonal décor, electronics, and the food court will no longer be available.

Many shoppers who spoke with the Free Press on Monday said they’re most excited about one thing: better parking.

“Getting in and out will hopefully be easier,” Ryland said. “God, I hope so.”

On Monday, the St. James store’s parking lot was gridlocked, with cars waiting for spots as shoppers loaded full carts into their vehicles.

Traffic spilled onto St. James Street, and at one point, a shopper warned drivers that all stalls were full on the east side of the building, prompting some to make a tight U-turn in search of parking elsewhere.

Last year, the city installed a traffic light to try to manage the congestion. Prior to that, Costco frequently hired special duty police officers — who can be contracted to work in uniform on their time off — to help direct traffic.

“Good riddance,” said one man, visibly frustrated, as he left the store.

“Counting down the days,” said another, about the move to the new location.

While parking headaches were the top reason many applauded the move, others said they expected more selection at the new store, like the offerings at the Regent Avenue West and McGillivray Boulevard locations.

But not everyone welcomed the change.

Brar, who lives in the area, said he’s unsure where he’ll shop next. As he waited to pick up his prescription, he reflected on the closure.

“It’s not great for me,” he said, declining to give his last name. “I’ll likely have to go all the way out to Transcona now. It’s a much longer drive. I’m really not happy about it.”

Ramy, loading a cart full of groceries, said his family will have to find another store as the new site is a long drive from their West End home.

Lindsay, who works on Keewatin Street and commutes by bus, said she’ll have to figure out whether Winnipeg Transit will offer service to the new location.

“My co-workers and I would just shoot down here on our lunch break, get some stuff for home or for work,” she said, asking her last name not be used. “It’s so much closer and more accessible for me because I bus.”

A Costco employee, who asked not to be named, said most St. James staff are transferring to the new warehouse — and most are content with the move.

Meanwhile, nearby businesses say they don’t expect the relocation to have much of an impact.

An employee at a neighbouring surplus furniture store said he doesn’t anticipate any major changes, noting most of their business comes from repeat customers.

A manager at a nearby flooring store agreed, adding that the presence of CF Polo Park and several other furniture and surplus retailers already draws plenty of shoppers to the area.

“And when the Costco Business Centre reopens, people will end up coming back if it does have an impact,” the manager said.

Earlier this year, Costco was given the green light to move ahead with a planned 162,000-square-foot store in the Rural Municipality of West St. Paul following a June public hearing. The location would be the first in north Winnipeg, and fifth in the province.

A seasonal garden centre, eatery, auto service station and more than 1,000 parking stalls would be part of the development.

The U.S.-based multinational retailer has claimed a 21-acre site south of the Perimeter Highway and west of Main Street. It’s part of Meadowlands, one of two developments under construction in West St. Paul.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca