The new Kelowna Costco held a grand opening Feb. 17, 2022.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The elusive Sony PlayStation 5, air fryers, paddleboards and e-bikes were hot tickets items for residents as the new Costco warehouse celebrates its grand opening in Kelowna today.

The warehouse held a grand opening this morning, Feb. 17, for the store’s new location at 2125 Baron Rd. and as of 9:30 a.m., the parking lot was nearly full.

Lake Country resident Leanne Prud’homme, a longtime Costco fan, said she picked up a PlayStation 5 video game console for her son.

Global supply chain issues due to the pandemic have created a shortage for the console worldwide, according to Forbes.

The PlayStation 5 game console was a hot item at the grand opening of the new Costco warehouse in Kelowna, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

“I’m basically a stay-at-home mom so it’s one of those fun little things to shake up my world. I’m a Costco groupie, I’ve lived in three provinces and I’ve been a Costco member for 27 years and I find Costco kind of a comforting, safe place,” she said.

READ MORE: How Costco plans to make its big move in Kelowna

This morning was no expectation. She arrived at the new location at roughly 6:30 a.m. and managed to get inside after waiting for roughly 15 minutes.

“I used to have to drive to the Kamloops Costco for breakfast burritos but Kelowna has them now,” she said, adding the tire shop was all new and she liked the set up of the hearing centre and pharmacy.

E-bikes and blow-up paddleboards were big items, Prud’homme said.

“People were loading up five and six on their carts,” she said. Other than the initial 6:30 a.m. line, the store wasn’t crowded.

Air fryers were another hot item, as residents loaded multiple fryers into their carts.

READ MORE: Well-known Kelowna Costco panhandler moving to new store location

Kelowna resident Frans Pynappels, an active member of the Kelowna Groupies Facebook group that has more than 11,000 members, said he visited the store with his 19-year-old daughter.

“It was just a fun thing to do, how often does a new Costco open up in a city? Maybe every 30, 35 years, so I thought it would be a fun thing to get up (early),” he said.

They arrived shortly after 6 a.m. and stood in line with roughly 600 other people waiting outside for the grand opening, he said.

About a third of the crowd darted for the PS5s but everyone else enjoyed perusing a newer version of the same store, he said. As of 9:30 a.m., there were still plenty of game consoles available.

His daughter convinced him to buy a stand-up paddleboard and Pynappels grabbed some Tommy Bahama chairs for a neighbour as well as edible pink pineapple since it’s his last name.

“I figured I couldn't walk out without one,” he chuckled.

In the last few days, it was fun to look for bargains at the old Costco warehouse down the road, he said.

“I also shop local but it’s a combination of good prices and excellent customer service, I’ve been shopping at Costco for 30 years and I’ve never had an unpleasant experience,” he said.

The tills at the new Kelowna Costco location, Feb. 17, 2022.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022