DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A crowd of hundreds gathered at ONE DAYTONA early Thursday for the grand opening of Volusia County’s first Costco Wholesale.
Daytona Beach officials joined executives from the wholesale club to cut the ribbon on what’s now the largest Costco in Central Florida.
“This really changes the game for us,” said Roxanne Ribakoff, president of One Daytona. “This is such a destination. It’s going to draw traffic from out of our market reach and that’s also going to benefit our other retailers.”
Daytona Beach City Manager Deric Feacher was on hand for the opening and said it highlights the area’s growth over the last several years.
“I think you’re going to continue to see a boom,” Feacher said. “The accommodations for our apartment living and hotels are right in this area, so this will help continue to drive different businesses to our area.”
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Shoppers were excited for their first chance to experience the new store.
Carl Joyce and his wife own a condo in Ponce Inlet and said they plan on shopping at the Costco often.
“I think it was needed. It’s nice to have the bigger quantities,” Joyce said. “We don’t have a whole lot of storage. We have a condo, but it’s nice to be able to get what you want.”
Officials for Costco said they expect the store to be popular with shoppers as the next closest location is in Altamonte Springs.
Several tents were outside the warehouse for people to sign up for memberships and are expected to remain in place over the next couple of weeks.
The new store is located at 150 Pit Road, which is north of the Daytona Beach International Speedway.
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