If Kansas City’s midtown Costco changes, some customers threaten to cancel memberships
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Costco is planning to convert the Linwood warehouse into a business center.
- The converted store will omit pharmacy, food court, optical, electronics, furniture.
- Costco plans to close the Linwood store in fall and reopen in spring 2027.
At a public meeting Tuesday night, a Costco corporate representative laid out what was effectively an ultimatum to some 75 upset Kansas City residents who gathered to challenge a proposed change to the wholesale warehouse on Linwood Boulevard in midtown.
“I’m not being dismissive,” the representative told the crowd at the Westport Kansas City Public Library. “What this ends up with is — you end up with a business center. The alternative is, it’s closed.”
On Wednesday, some Costco customers insisted they have a third choice: Cancel their memberships.
“Yeah, I’ll definitely be canceling my membership if they go that way,” said Melissa McGuire, who shops at Costco twice a week and whose home on East 32nd Street is one of 32 on the block that lies north of the Costco at 241 Linwood Blvd.
Change coming to midtown KC Costco
The backyards of half the homes overlook the parking lots of Costco, a staple in the neighborhood for 25 years, and the adjacent Home Depot.
Costco currently operates 26 business centers across 16 states, with more being added.
Unlike Costco’s standard wholesale warehouses, of which there are more than 900, Costco’s business centers primarily provide bulk items to commercial clients, such as restaurants, convenience stores and offices.
As such, the centers routinely offer more food items for sale, both in bulk and individually.
Company officials said they would actually expand the grocery selections by about 600 items and would still include bathroom tissue, paper towels, tissues, diapers, kitchen supplies, storage supplies, appliances, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies.
Also for sale: Pet food and pet supplies, snacks and chips, pre-packaged bakery products, fresh and frozen produce, dairy products, packaged meats, eggs, frozen meals, candy, canned vegetables and fruit, sauces, juices and other beverages.
Health and beauty items such as toothpaste and vitamins would also be sold.
The gas pumps will also remain.
What’s not offered at a Costco business center
Costco’s current plan is to close the Linwood store in the fall and reopen in the spring of 2027. When it does, other services will not be offered.
There will be no food court, no pharmacy, no optical center, no electronics, no furniture, no gardening supplies, no clothing and no tire shop.
The store will open and close earlier, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, as opposed to 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.
McGuire said she was glad to learn that business centers would still be selling food that’s not in bulk. “That’s better,” she said, as she had been under the misimpression that the business centers would not offer non-bulk items.
For neighbor Josh Brooks, Costco is not about the groceries as much as it is about the pharmacy and automotive center, both of which he uses regularly.
“We do a lot of our grocery shopping across the state line over in Kansas, specifically because they don’t have a grocery tax,” Brooks said. “I go over the Costco to pick up like basic stuff. . . .
“I’m going to check it out first. Then, I mean, if it doesn’t really serve my needs, then I’ll probably just end up canceling the membership. No point in paying for it if I’m not going to use it.”
Consternation versus convenience
Brendan Smith has lived on 32nd Street for 40 years. She recalled meeting with Costco representatives more than 25 years ago when the warehouse was first proposed to help revitalize what was then considered a blighted part of the block.
“Costco had a meeting with neighbors,” Smith recalled. “The only thing we said is we don’t really want a big box. Make it compatible with the neighborhood. But we don’t care now, because we love it.”
Smith said that she, too, has thought about canceling her membership, because the warehouse will no longer serve all her needs
“So many of my friends and I use the pharmacy. That’s going to be gone. And that’s a huge loss,” she said. “I can deal with the tires being gone. I’m glad they’re keeping the gas station.”
She said she will likely continue to shop there.
“I probably will. I can walk there,” Smith said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do about the pharmacy.”
Most members of the City Council wrote a letter asking Costco to consider the consequences the change will have on nearby residents. Costco’s plan remains under review by city staff.
The neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, in which Costco’s representatives fielded residents’ questions and concerns, was a required part of the city process as the company seeks a zoning change.
The one question that was asked repeatedly, but was never satisfactorily answered, was why the Linwood store had been chosen for the turnover.
The Kansas City area is home to four other Costco wholesale warehouses, in Lenexa, Overland Park, Independence and Kansas City North. Another store is set to open in Lee’s Summit in August.
Of those, only the midtown store is slated to be changed into a business center. Costco’s representatives on Tuesday would only say that the decision was made at a high corporate level.
Costco has the right to ‘make choices’
In Costco’s parking lot on Wednesday, some customers remained torn over what they see as inevitable change.
Kathryn Ratzlaff is the baking manager for a local coffee shop. Costco’s change into a business center, she said, will benefit her business.
“So this is a lot cheaper than U.S. Foods,” she said of the restaurant supplier. “So we save a lot of money shopping here as a business. So that’s going to help, because they’re going to add on delivery services.
“But I also live like two minutes from here, so I’m kind of devastated that the deli is going away, and the food court is going away. So I’m very mixed. So it’s going to make my job easier. But, personally, I’d rather it stay just as it is.”
Customer Stan Eshelman is not torn.
“I’m probably not going to cancel my membership,” he said. “I think Costco is an independent business, and they can make choices. I don’t think it’s the right one for a lot of Kansas City people. I don’t necessarily think it’s going to be good, but they can do it, and maybe it will be better than a lot of people expect.”
‘More harm than good’
Kim Wilson, who was born in Kansas City, moved to Atlanta, and has returned to help care for a relative, had only just learned from another customer about the impending change.
“The reason I have a problem with it,” she said, “is that there are a lot of people in this community who don’t really have anything of bulk that they can go to. They have a lot of families to feed. Like, for myself, helping to care for a family member who is right down the street, this is really quick and convenient. I told them, ‘I’ll be right back.’ It’s taken five minutes to get here.
“So you take this away, I think it’s going to do more harm than good. I’m not sure why this was even proposed. But I don’t think it will affect it too much, but enough where you’re going to have a lot of people going to Sam’s Club.”
