New Costco has finally opened in southern Ontario

Costco has officially opened its newest location in Ontario and this one’s a little different.

The store at 18182 Yonge Street in East Gwillimbury has been transformed into a Costco Business Centre. This is the fifth of its kind in Ontario and tenth in Canada, according to a press release.

These locations focus on products for businesses, including restaurant supplies, bulk groceries, office essentials and industrial-sized everything.

More than 3,000 items are available here and over 70 per cent of what’s stocked is unique to the Business Centre layout. Just don’t expect a $1.50 hot dog on the way out as there is no food court.

If the concept feels familiar, a Business Centre opened in Mississauga in late October. INsauga.com took a tour of the location and spotted barrels of olive oil and maple syrup, buckets of pickles and mayo, 50-pound bags of onions and carrots and wheels of cheese big enough to feed a village. Plus plenty of regular Costco-sized products for everyday shopping.

The East Gwillimbury location used to be a conventional Costco warehouse. In August, a new Costco opened in Newmarket and the East Gwillimbury location was closed to be converted into a business centre. It also includes a 12-pump gas station, a massive 9,500-square-foot cooler and a designated indoor loading area, along with a fleet of trucks offering next-day delivery in the surrounding area.

To celebrate opening week, shoppers can score deals such as $200 off a Eurodib manual meat slicer, $180 off a Eurodib commercial meat grinder, $100 off a 25-kg block of Agropur unsalted butter, $40 off Canada ungraded tenderloin, $40 off a Sagetra 10-row bun pan rack and $10 off a 2-kg tub of Bella Casara mascarpone cheese. These items are exclusive to the East Gwillimbury location the press release notes.

The centre is open to all Costco members and operates 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

—With files from Ryan Rocca.