
Bummer! No Pizza or Hot Dogs at Missoula Costco for a While
Have you been to the Missoula Costco recently? Since last summer the building has been undergoing a bit of a facelift that included a totally new entrance. A few weeks ago they made the switch and that new entrance is now where you enter the store. Another addition to the entrance is an extended portion of the building that now houses all of the extra carts indoors instead of outside.
The new entrance is located just East of the old one
When you walk through the new entrance you're still pretty close to where you used to enter. But the area has been opened up a bit and feels super roomy. Other changes in the store include products being moved to different areas, the aisle near the frozen food that used to be where all the beverages were kept has been removed, the dairy cooler room has been removed and a new one now exists next to the fruits and vegetable cooler room, and the exit is now different.
The new view when you enter Missoula's Costco
In the picture below, the garage door to the right is the one that used to serve as the entrance to the store. Now you walk past it and proceed to the door you see in the distance in order to exit.
The new view to exit Costco
And there's one other big change that's coming to the Missoula Costco. The food court that used to be located right near the old exit is no longer. An employee told me that the food court will move inside the store with an open concept as you'll find at most other Costco locations. When I asked where it was going I was told that it would be "over near where the optical area is." If that is indeed the case it would lead me to believe the optical area would then have to move. I'm not sure if that's exactly the plan but I guess we'll find out over the coming months.
What's left of the old food court area
The changes and additions to Missoula's Costco have already made it feel and look more modern. I can't wait to see how things look when the food court is finished. The bad news is that it sounds like it'll be a while before we'll be chowing down on Costco pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream. I was told the estimate is that it'll be October or so before the new food court will open. I guess the good news is that I have about eight months where I won't be tempted with food purchases on my way out the door!