Costco prepares to open next metro Atlanta store

Costco Wholesale, known for its sprawling stores and bulk-quantity goods, is preparing to launch its next metro Atlanta location.

The big-box retailer said it will open a store in Stone Mountain on Aug. 27.

The warehouse is located to the east of Stone Mountain Park at 1915 W. Park Place Blvd., off Highway 78 and just inside Gwinnett County.

The store will span 164,000 square feet, including a food court, pharmacy and tire center. It will also have a Costco gas station.

The location will employ about 300 workers and will offer around 4,000 products for sale, the retailer said.

The store will offer about 4,000 products, says Costco. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Rosina Yeo, warehouse manager, said in a news release that Stone Mountain residents “have been asking us to open here for a long time.”

Costco says it’s the 18th location in Georgia. The retailer reported net sales of about $29 billion for the five weeks that ended July 5, up more than 10% from the same period last year.

The new Costco is part of a mixed-use development called Mountain Marketplace, developed by Atlanta-based Fuqua Development. It’s taking shape at the site of the former Stone Mountain Tennis Center, which was used during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games but later demolished.

The project will include other tenants such as Chick-fil-A, PNC Bank and 7 Brew Coffee, according to Fuqua Development, along with more than 200 apartments from developer Greystar.

“I’m just happy to see more development in Gwinnett County, especially on the south side,” said Annalysce Baker, a Tucker resident. “We will be there when it opens. We already have our Costco memberships, so we’re ready to go.”

It becomes the 18th Costco location in Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Costco said residents in the area have had to drive 12 to 25 miles to shop at a Costco store, such as in Duluth, Brookhaven or at the Mall of Georgia.

“I almost let my membership lapse because the one in Brookhaven is 30 minutes away on a good day and in such a chaotic area,” said Angie Kovacs, a Tucker resident. “Having one 10 minutes away will be so nice. I love me some Costco!”

Stone Mountain resident Kandy Jaugstetter is a Costco member but she said the drive was so inconvenient that she usually shops online and has her orders delivered.