Costco gas pumps expected to open

EAGLE COUNTY – Motorists on U.S. Highway 6 between Eagle and Gypsum will soon have a new place to stop and fill up on gas. Ken Wadsworth, the new Costco warehouse manager, said that the gas station should be open by this weekend, though the big-box store won’t open until 8 a.m. Oct. 20. Customers must have a Costco card to pump gas at the station. The annual fee is $50.

“We all have the equipment ready for people to come and sign up,” Wadsworth said. People can go to the temporary office – in the Clocktower building in the Airport Gateway commercial park on McGreggor Drive – to get a membership. The new gas station will offer very basic gasoline services, carrying 85 and 91 octane but no diesel fuel. The big question is whether a big-box store will offer big-box discounts on gas, too.While Wadsworth could not confirm direct prices for gasoline, he did mention that they plan on staying competitive.

“Like everything in our store, we have a set margin,” he said. “We won’t go above a certain set price.”The Costco warehouse store, at 170 Cooley Mesa Road near the Eagle County airport, is 155,000 square feet and will sell about 4,000 different products. Brands sold by Costco include Kodak, Kraft, Champion, Ray-Ban, Dom Perignon, Sony, Panasonic, Michelin, KitchenAid, Disney, Titleist and the Costco private label, Kirkland Signature.

The store also will have a bakery, meat and produce department, deli, optical department, pharmacy, one-hour photo, tire center, wine and liquor and a food court.The warehouse will be open from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m Monday through Friday, though business and executive members can shop an hour earlier on weekdays. Saturday hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Vail, Colorado