Costco opens first location in Brantford [Video]

Costco Wholesale opened its first location in Brantford on Friday.

The new location is at 175 Roy Boulevard, off Wayne Gretzky Parkway, next to Lynden Park Mall.

It becomes the 41st location in Ontario. General manager, Justin Peckitt told CTV News the store has brought more than 300 permanent jobs and 80 seasonal positions to Brantford.

“We’ve been excited about this and I feel like Brantford is excited to have us,” Peckitt said.

The warehouse features Costco’s first sushi department in the province.

The 159,098 square-foot superstore offers an independent optometrist on-site, a hearing aid centre, five tire centre bays, a gas station with 24 pumps and a pharmacy.

The store opened its doors to customers around 6:30 a.m., with shoppers lining up more than an hour in advance.

‘We’ve been here since [6:05 a.m.] and it was packed,” said Deanna Finch-Smith.

Cecil Barrett drove all the way from Toronto …