Costco Opening November 13 Portage Avenue

It certainly took long enough but at 6 am Thursday, Costco will open their newest location on 4077 Portage Avenue near Assiniboia Downs. It is a big location at just under 167,000 square feet. The massive gas station with pumps three deep has been open for a a few weeks. There is a special entrance to the Costco but it is likely going to be chaos. The 1000 or so parking spaces will be meaningless if everyone is at a chokepoint getting in and off of Portage. I don't even want to guess what it will be like during Christmas, Red River Ex or Derby. It is very probably that major road improvements will have to be made to the entrance to Costco.

It is likely that some people will be diverted from Kenaston Costco. Those living in St. James, Charleswood and Tuxedo as well as those west of the Perimeter will make Portage there chosen location. People at Kenaston hoping for their store to be less crowded might not see much change. The growing community of Bridgwater and South Point to the north and the Kapyong Barracks and Seasons apartments are adding thousands of units of housing.

The old St. James Polo Park location becomes a Business Centre same day Portage location opens up. The pharmacy transfers to Portage Thursday. Many of the staff will be there as well. There are a number of items as listed as sales in store  but is unclear if this exclusive to this opening. It is expected that some work will be continuing on some construction even as the store welcomes customers.

Unlike other Costcos in the city, this one has apartments all around it. Many of those people will be commuting as well in and out of the same entrances. And more apartments will be built over the next months and years.

As for the old St. James Polo Park location, they will be selling discounted meat on their re-opening today as a business center. Expect it to be busy.

One more Costco off north Main will be built in 2026 so traffic patterns will be realigned and perhaps...perhaps some traffic sanity will emerge in around Costco.

Second New Costco Coming Off North Main

The Costco at Kenaston seen in the above picture never has this empty a parking lot. This was taken during the Covid period. Built in 1992 and expanded, it was the biggest of box stores to go up in the area and attracted Walmart in 2000 and many other stores over the years. Costco parent company Kirkland said during an event honouring their CEO in Winnipeg that the city was on track to get a fourth Costco soon. Well, the last five years have been difficult ones with the pandemic, supply chain issues and now tariffs but the Winnipeg region has seen announcements for a fourth Costco and now a fifth Costco as well.

Two new Costcos in the 160,000+ square feet size in the west and north of the city are gamechangers. In truth, the city will have little say about the one on North Main as that is a block or so into the West St. Paul Municipality. Approvals are likely to speed through there. It is possible the province might have something to say about urban sprawl or traffic along Main. Meadowland and Main could become exceptionally busy.

I don't think there is anyone in Winnipeg who will deny that the three Costcos in Winnipeg now are packed to the rafters. Kenaston's store can be a nightmare at any time in the next and on any day.  Getting to the store along Kenaston is just as bad and those coming into the city or across the city to get to any Costco must dread it. 

It is without a doubt that people in the west and north parts of the city will make the new Costcos their chosen location. To be sure, it will relieve some of the strain on the other locations. However, the business is growing even now so people should not expect wide aisles with no one around to be annoyed as you stroll slowly with your cart sideways.

As for the smallest Costco, it will be closed a few months to become a Costco Business Center. It is very likely we will see a publicity push to explain what that is. For all intents, it will be a bulk supplier of goods and more suitable for a restaurant than say a family kitchen, better for an office manager than printer cartridges for the family office and so on.

In essence though, by the end of 2026, Winnipeg will have four Costcos and one Costco Business Center. They will cover all four quadrants of the city and the more central Polo Park area. The new locations will transform the north and the west retailing when they go up. That is to say that retailers who sell gas, do car repairs or sell services will have to better match prices. No more premium on gas sold on west Portage or north Main. Competitive prices on tire sales, tune-ups and the like. 

Grocery stores in the area will have to keep watch on prices at Costco. And restaurants will want to locate near Costcos. This is true for retailers as well. I can't imagine a liquor or cannabis store will want to be too far away. Just think what Costco did for the Kenaston area. In short, could Costco on west Portage result in Moxie's, Earls or Joeys opening nearby? Expect there to be a rush.

Hundreds of jobs will be created in construction and hundreds more employed at the stores. All in all this is a very good news story for Winnipeg as well as West St. Paul. This will hopefully add more competition to the grocery, gas and merchandise market in the city. The Unicity location should be up by October 2025 and the other location is expected in 2026.

Quiet January 1st in Winnipeg

The First of January is generally one of the quietest days of the year. It isn't a religious holiday per se. It isn't one where a family dinner or gifts are required. Over the decades in Winnipeg it has entailed going out for dinner and dancing but this has greatly been reduced by the falling amount of bars, cabarets and lounges. This is a change long is coming with young people's relationship with alcohol. It also has to do with tobacco.

The late night opening of some stores and restaurants is a story about liquor and cigarettes. No need for a 24 hour Shopper's if people are not coming in at all hours to buy tobacco. Likewise, no need for a 4 AM closing at a restaurant if booze is not sold in sufficient quantities. The aging population means that people don't roll into a restaurant at midnight and spend a few hours there.

And so it goes for a day like January 1st. The evening event on the Eve in places like The Forks and Assiniboine Park end early. There are no fireworks. Skating and restaurants are still open although close before midnight in the parks. City parks are largely empty after 10 pm. There really has been a turn against fireworks in the city of Winnipeg.

Fireworks have largely been left to the community clubs and few of them do it on Canada Day or January 1st. I suspect a bylaw at some point to ban them in Winnipeg including sports events. The opposition to them has grown so determined that it will probably be something that could preclude fireworks for Grey Cup. Much of the resistance to fireworks has centered on the noise that affects animals. However, we have come to see public parks largely abandon evening events on New Year's Eve entirely.

The night lights program over winter at the zoo and Assiniboia Downs are good but the days of a New Year's celebration in the evening are largely gone. If New Year's Day is not that important or overrated as a holiday in Manitoba, it strikes me that more stores and services should be open. If city, provincial and federal governments think the day should be devoid of real celebration, open it up and remove it as a statutory day. Have people return to work that day if it is a normal day of the week. Or at the very least, let's grocery stores and malls open.

Federal holidays should be re-evaluated after consultations with the public. It is likely July 1st Canada Day and Christmas remain statutory days. However, does Victoria Day mean anything? Truth and Reconciliation is new and likely to stay but I expect it evolves over the years. Thanksgiving is unlikely to change as is Remembrance Day (although I can see it becoming a Monday at some point). However, Good Friday and Easter Monday are probably not needed. 

It is clear that many public places would rather not do much on New Year's Eve so what is really special about it? Perhaps it should be just like any other holiday like Halloween or Valentine's Day: Just a regular work day.

 

Costco Finally Gets a Fourth Store

 

We saw plans in 2018 for a Costco by Assiniboia Downs and were told by their chief executive in a visit that a fourth store was coming but then the pandemic came in 2020 and all plans were off the table. It is now 2023 and similar plans are back for the same site. Same size Costco at 166,000+ feet and more parking than the original plan had. Keep in mind that Kenaston's Costco has had to parking expansions since it was built in 2007 and still barely has space each and every day. Regent also added parking as it too reached capacity. St. James doesn't have that option as the smallest location and doesn't even have a gas station. 

The new location appears to be larger than Kenaston and Regent. Those were built to a standard 150,000+ square feet. Same size as what is in Fargo, North Dakota. I found no records they ever expanded beyond original building. The first two Costcos at St. James/Polo Park and Regent were built in 1990 and 1992.  The third at Kenaston came, as mentioned, in 1992. The first Walmarts in Canada came in 1994 when Woolco was taken over by the big U.S. chain. It would take another six years or so for Walmarts to move to better locations. The original Costco in Burnaby, B.C. came in 1985 and this head start over other U.S. retailer gave it a strong advantage. The largest Costco in Canada is the recently completely one in St. John's at 182,000 square feet. That's pretty big but there largest in the States is 230,000 square feet.

Early arrivals and adapting have helped the Costcos and the Walmarts survive in Canada while the Targets and Nordstrom's have failed. If Costco is adding a fourth store, it is certainly because the demand warrants it. The Facebook and Reddit discussions mention the issues with crowds in Winnipeg and no doubt there is joy in the city that a new location is coming.

The one thing a Costco does in an area is create some competition. In terms of gas sales, Costco has an effect on pricing downwards for a few blocks surrounding it. Likewise, car maintenance places have to keep an eye on the warehouse store lest they lose business to it. A fourth Costco is good for consumers. Costco pharmacies have impacts on dispensing fees, optical purchases, meat, bakery and produce and third party business purchases.

Interviews with some business leaders like Foodfare in Winnipeg have shown they don't fear Costco. They have carved out a business operation that has worked well although everyone has been re-thinking supply chain issues, reliability and inflation. As the pandemic showed, overseas supply chain worked insofar as cheaper products only when fuel costs were low, world trade stability in check and interest rates down. Inflation means cost controls will come from supplies closer to home, sharing more costs of warehousing and shipping, more automation in logistics and if Costco's example is any indication, an army of people on the floor to assist in the human to human element of running a shop.

The development that Costco is in is called Westport Festival. There will be two traffic lights leading into it. The Red River Ex and Assiniboia Downs are located north of. The Iceplex is east of it as well as the car dealerships. It has been a busy area at times and it could get busier. It could very well be that this leads to more lanes on that section of road. The stretch to Headingley has been notorious for years for speeding and collisions.

It is difficult to say if Costco will make it easier along the section by the Kenaston location. The development of the Kapyong area into 2024 and the growth of Bridgwater and communities beyond make it seem like no relief is coming soon to the area. However, for many in the west part of the city, they can choose to use the new Costco.

No timeline exists for the opening but 2024 seems reasonable. A big question is whether Portage West Walmart will upgrade to compete. It doesn't have the grocery of other Walmarts and might lose business without doing something. We might see a few businesses along the street look to improve because it is not only Costco going up in that retail area.

For Winnipeggers, is the chance of more competition for these high inflation times.

New Hotels On West Portage Avenue

In the last year, as noted in these pages, there has been a flurry of private businesses upgrading or building hotels from the ground up. West Portage Avenue is the latest to see some big changes.

Unlike the U.S, where national hotel brand names proliferate in select areas, Winnipeg has been known for regional city hotels. While these hotels might be affiliated with major reservations systems, they have retained their unique name and design status. The examples in Winnipeg abound: Norwood Hotel, Assiniboine Gordon Hotel and the Viscount Gort.

The Downs Motor Inn was one such regional hotel. In the last years, it has taken on the name-brand of Howard Johnson Express hotel. The 43 room hotel now has some new owners who seek to expand the hotel and take advantage of the attractions in the west of the city.

For years the main attraction was Assiniboia Downs Racetrack and the John Blumberg Golf Course. Hence, the old name Downs Motor Inn. The list of attractions has increased quite a bit. The Red River Ex, Adrenaline Adventures and the new MTS Iceplex are all drawing increasing numbers of people.

The sense that the area is a destination point has been recognized by others. Two other hotel projects are presently underway. A 70 room Motel 6 is nearing completion in Headingley close to the very busy Flying J gas station. The Motel 6 looks a little lonely where it presently sits but the whole stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway is being transformed by a divided road that will help commercial development. Also, being built is a 110 room Best Western hotel in that section of road.

Alongside the Howard Johnson Express inside the Perimeter Highway is a Canada 1 Hotel. If the name seems confusing, it is because it was a Super 8 Hotel until recently. I can't even find a listing of the hotel online but there it is: rebranded.

Just off the top of my head, I'd say the greatest influence on hotels in the area has to be the MTS Iceplex. It will be hosting large tournaments for years to come and teams will need places to stay. I expect we may not have seen the last of hotels being built in the area.