For years western slope residents have been hoping and wishing that a Costco warehouse store would open in Grand Junction.
Around 2010, rumors started circulating that Costco was considering locating a new store in Grand Junction. People even started proposing possible locations for the new store in the Daily Sentinel’s letters-to-the-editor column.
But Costco never came to Grand Junction, and to this day rumors continue to abound about why the area was passed up.
People blamed the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce for chasing Costco away, saying the Chamber wanted to keep the wage scale low here, and Costco would upend our area’s low-wage apple cart. Costco is known for it’s generous wage and benefits packages, paying a starting salary of around $17/hour, or $45,000/year, and offering employees medical insurance, retirement and more.
Others claim Costco rejected Grand Junction because of our notoriously underfunded District 51 schools.
None of these are true.