When it comes to corporate innovation, Costco keeps betting on California. The company has a long history in the state, particularly in Southern California, where the first Price Club (which would go on to become Costco) opened in 1976. In the decades since, Costco has used California’s size and massive population to pilot big new ideas, including a first-of-its-kind housing model currently in the works in south Los Angeles.
Next up: a stand-alone gas station, with room for 40 cars at a time.
In June, Costco is expected to debut its first gas station that’s not attached to any current or forthcoming retail warehouse. The project, landing right off Interstate 5 in Orange County’s Mission Viejo, is no small feat, either. With a more than 17,000-square-foot gas canopy and a trio of 40,000-gallon storage tanks, the membership-only place is planned to be seriously high-capacity when it opens, and should undoubtedly give other area gas stations a run for their money…