Costco Grand Opening

“COSTCO OPENS JUST IN TIME TO SAVE THE WORLD!” One would think that would be the headline in the Garden Island after the way Kauai residents reacted to the store’s grand opening. And really, more people showed up at the new Costco Wholesale than they did at the Farm Fair, the biggest event of the year. I was fortunate enough to partake in this phenomenon, my parents being just as eager as everyone else was to buy “budget items” and to “save money.”

For months, we would drive by the monumental warehouse-like building, imagining what edibles and inedibles were already lining the aisles and how Costco could possibly stock such a huge edifice of a building. We celebrated the day those bright red letters of “Costco” were mounted above the entrance. We conversed among our friends and acquaintances about that impending opening date, arguing whether or not the parking lot would be paved by then, gossiping about how many the company would employ for the opening.

Then that ominous day finally fell, on a Tuesday, a work day. Not that that really mattered: everyone fixed their work schedule around Costco. My dad, though, had to patiently wait until five o’clock to explore the depths of the warehouse. But we didn’t worry because Costco was open to the late time of eight p.m. Three hours would surely be enough time! Driving down Highway 50, we sat in silent anticipation, gazing vacantly at the passing countryside. Our eyes gained more expression as they finally caught sight of the treasured store.

Parking was worse than Ke’e in July, but it was worth it. We filed into the gaping entrance, following the rest of hypnotized believers. It was like Christmas when you are five years old and, oh, so excited! Flat-screen televisions blazing their high-definition pictures were the first things to dazzle our wide-open eyes. Beyond were the endless aisles of everything imaginable. Almost as incredible as the store goods, were the multitude of people with happy faces and a look of being a little lost about them. It seemed as if the whole island population had gathered in one place to reap the wealth of Costco supplies. One deep breath and we stepped into another world.

Our first circuit around the building’s interior was solely for looking at everything. We gawked at the huge tubs of cheese puffs and stared at the extra supplies piled all the way to the ceiling. Surely we now had enough supplies to outlast any hurricane! We picked up many items and asked each other, “Is this a good deal?” and always received an affirmative answer. We took a little jog around the produce room (does fruit really need to be that cold?). One would think that we would be exhausted already. Our legs were tired, but our hearts were not. We would be valiant to the end!

We set out once more, beginning at the televisions and ending at the cash registers. But we found that we were too hungry to fiddle around much in aisles containing appliances and paper goods; we pushed right past them to the food. Since there were too many people to push a cart through, we parked in the cheese aisle. Some of us stayed to guard the cart, while the rest of us scattered in the produce. We came back with our prizes a half hour later only to move on to the aisles of cans and boxes and bags. Up and down, up and down the aisles we trudged, loading the cart from both sides. It honestly felt more like marching in a parade than shopping for groceries. Many of us customers were just there to see and be seen. Yes, peer pressure does endure into adulthood.When we at last halted at the check-out line, a sense of triumph overwhelmed us all. We had entered the monster’s lair and had returned with our booty. Costco was conquered!

Compared to the chess match of weaving through fellow customers and selecting from the shelves, checking out was a game of checkers. We entered another line of exiting customers and stepped out into the open night air. Life felt so good then. Everyone was tired and famished, yet satisfied. I am not quite sure whether the feeling was from hunger or from the pleasure of being one of the “first in line.” Either way, we were thankful for Costco and somehow even glad that we had six gallons of mayonnaise and thirty rolls of paper towels in the trunk. If only the mob of customers had been slightly less numerous!