BILLINGS - The much anticipated grand opening for the new Billings Costco store will have to wait a week.
The store on Zoo Drive near ZooMontana was originally set to open on Thursday, Oct. 19, but it will now open on Friday, Oct. 27.
The current Costco on King Avenue West will close after the new store opens, but an official date has yet to be announced.
The new 166,000-square-foot facility is near Meadowlark Brewery.
It's an opening that has Meadowlark ownership excited.
Costco will add to all the businesses in the area around Zoo Drive, Shiloh Road and Pierce Parkway.
"We expect a lot more traffic,” said Travis Peterson, Meadowlark owner. “And the spot so far has been really great for us. It's been a good expansion."
Peterson says the brewery has been open for 14 months and already he expects to add more employees, change hours, and change the menu.
He says the land was purchased and the plans in place even before he knew about a new Costco.
"We love being on the west end because we saw a lot of good growth and development,” Peterson said. “When we heard that Costco was coming in here, I thought that would be a great boon for business for us."
Peterson has seen the crowds at the old store and as a Costco shopper himself, has an idea about some of his future clientele.
"Now we've been kind of joking that as people go shopping like okay, honey you go shop, I'm going to grab a beer,” Peterson said. “And that's what we're anticipating.”
And that's what regular customer J.D. Waggener and his friends say. He talked about Costco’s effect on Meadowlark.
"I was telling Travis that he couldn't have picked a better location not even knowing two or three years ago when they planned," Waggener said.
The first Meadowlark Brewery opened several years ago in Sidney, and Wagner was among the original customers.
"It's pretty much just the same feel,” Waggener said. “Good, friendly, hometown feel. This is just bigger."
Peterson has also been selling Meadowlark beer at Costco, which will be another draw for his business.
"That's really cool that people can buy our product and then just come right across the road and see right where we make it,” Peterson said. “Look in the window. See the brewery. Meet the people that work here. I think it's going to be great."
