By RJ Morales | TX3DNews
ALLEN, Texas — Excited shoppers packed the sidewalks Friday morning as Costco officially opened its newest warehouse at 1067 State Highway 121 in Allen. The 152,000-square-foot store, located next to Black Gold Harley-Davidson, is the 44th Costco in Texas and the 628th in the United States.
The crowd stretched out well before the 8 a.m. opening. Several residents told TX3DNews they had waited in long lines but didn’t mind the wait. “It’s crowded, but worth it,” one shopper said. Another added that having a Costco in Allen means saving time and gas on trips that used to mean driving to Plano or Frisco.
Local resident Rakesh Gupta, said the new Costco “definitely feels bigger than the one on Dallas Parkway,” noting that the gas station can handle about 32 cars at once and the parking lot has noticeably more room. He visited on the second day after opening and described the store as crowded but well-organized, with a few new items he hadn’t seen at other locations that made the visit “feel fresh and worth checking out.”
Other shoppers echoed the excitement on Reddit. Caleb Y. wrote that he arrived at 7:40 a.m. to find “a long line around the building” and parking spilling into a nearby church lot. Another, posting as Nepalm, noted opening-day bargains such as $99 Hoka Cliftons and $75 Birkenstocks, plus a pop-up cheesecake sampling event — but also described parking “crazy,” with some cars in fire lanes and loading zones.
A Local Economic Footprint
The opening comes at a welcome time for the region’s economy. WARN filings earlier this year documented layoffs in multiple sectors across TX-03. Against that backdrop, the addition of nearly 300 new retail jobs represents a meaningful boost to the local workforce. These positions expand employment opportunities and provide stability for families across Collin County.
Costco has already hired about 218 employees for the Allen warehouse and expects to reach close to 300, according to Warehouse Manager Douglas Walker. “They have been asking us to open here for a long time, and we already have made an impact on the local job market,” Walker said in prepared remarks. “We look forward to contributing to the community in many ways.”
What’s Inside the Allen Costco
The warehouse stocks between 3,800 and 4,000 products, ranging from groceries and apparel to electronics and furniture. Customers will find national brands like Adidas, Apple, Sony, LG, KitchenAid, and General Mills, along with Costco’s private-label Kirkland Signature line.
The facility also includes a full slate of specialty departments:
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Gas station
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Fresh bakery, meat, and produce
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Deli with rotisserie chicken
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Pharmacy
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Optical department with an independent optometrist
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Tire center
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Hearing aid center
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Food court
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Beer and fine wine
Membership and Services
Membership is required to shop. Gold Star and Business Memberships cost $65 annually and include one free household card. Business Members can purchase goods for resale and add cards for $65 each. An Executive Membership, which requires a $65 upgrade, provides 2% annual rewards on qualified purchases up to $1,250 and additional savings on services. Executive Members also gain early entry to the warehouse beginning at 9 a.m. daily.
For small businesses, the store means closer access to bulk supplies at wholesale prices and services such as check printing and payment processing.
Growth in Collin County
Allen city leaders and regional economic developers point to the project as another marker of Collin County’s rapid growth. With Allen’s population now above 111,000 and Collin County surpassing 1.2 million, large-format retailers continue to bet on the area’s demand.
Until now, the closest Costco warehouses were in Plano and Frisco, requiring a 13- to 16-mile drive for many residents. The new Allen location eliminates that barrier for thousands of households across central Collin County.
A Broader Costco Picture
Globally, Costco operates 914 warehouses, including locations in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia. The company employs more than 330,000 people worldwide and reported $249.6 billion in annual sales for the fiscal year ending September 2024. Costco highlights its commitment to “providing employees with real living wages” and opportunities for career advancement, standards that it credits with high membership retention.
Impact in TX-03
For residents of Texas’ 3rd Congressional District, the Allen warehouse represents more than another big-box store. It brings hundreds of jobs and a shorter drive for families in one of the fastest-growing suburban areas in the country.
Beyond employment, the store is expected to generate additional sales tax revenue for Allen and Collin County, feeding back into city services, infrastructure, and schools. Increased traffic around Highway 121 may pose new challenges, but local officials view the project as a long-term gain for the regional economy.
For many families on opening day, the impact was more immediate: the chance to fill a cart closer to home. As one shopper summed it up while leaving the store, “It feels like Allen finally got what we’ve been waiting for.”