Costco is famously rooted in Washington state, with its headquarters in Kirkland (which is also the name of its signature brand) and its first official store operating out of Seattle’s industrial SoDo neighborhood. But did you know that the wholesale club behemoth can trace its true origins much further south, and to a famous connection? As it turns out, a line can be drawn from Costco to Howard Hughes, the famous movie producer, aviator, and eccentric business tycoon.
Among his many properties, Hughes once owned a rather large warehouse in San Diego, California, that was eventually turned into an early wholesale store called Price Club. It went on to merge with Costco in the 1990s, forever cementing the Costco-Hughes connection. Sure, it may not be the strongest celebrity-Costco connection ever, and Hughes himself never set foot inside one of the chain’s stores, but it’s one that Costco can be proud to have as part of its storied history nonetheless.
How an airplane hangar became a wholesale club store
While it’s unclear exactly how long Howard Hughes’ San Diego building served as a hangar, or if any remodeling was done prior to its wholesale club days, what is known is that it reopened as Price Club in the summer of 1976 after being purchased by local businessman Sol Price and his son, Robert. It looks pretty similar today compared to old photos of the building in its Price Club days and as an aviation hangar, with its vaulted ceilings and massive walls. The coolest part though? If you’re a history buff in San Diego, you can actually go shop at the Costco that once housed Hughes’ airplanes (assuming you’re also a Costco member, of course). The store sits on Morena Boulevard, at the exact same address as its preceding incarnations.
But seeing as Costco and Price Club were once famous competitors, how did the former end up taking over the property? The story of what happened to Price Club is a long one; to quickly summarize, Costco and Price Club merged as “PriceCostco” in 1993, officially combining Price Club’s original bulk items-in-a-warehouse business model with Costco’s notably wider product selection (including fresh produce, which Price Club did not offer). The brand simplified back to just Costco in 1997, and eventually went on to become the third-largest retailer in the world.
Costco’s famous connections today
Howard Hughes may never have known the glory of Costco, but there are many other famous figures throughout the store’s history that sure have. Singers like Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish, as well as reality stars like the Kardashian family, have either publicly expressed their love for the store or been spotted there by fellow shoppers out in the wild. And it’s not just people in the entertainment world. Even Mark Zuckerberg, one of the wealthiest people in the world, has been seen at his local Costco. Former President Barack Obama took a tour of a Costco store back in 2014, and even delivered a speech there…