AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Some Western New Yorkers cannot wait to have a Costco in their own backyard.
"I like buying things in bulk," North Tonawanda resident Riddhi Patel said. "My family and I really benefit from it. We're a huge family and we like having things in stock. Sam's Club does provide that but the thing with Costco is that they do have a lot of diverse foods and goods. So, Asian catered stuff and whatnot."
Costco is home to a wide selection of items like electronics, furniture, groceries and of course bulk items.
Earlier this week, the Amherst Planning Board approved changes to the project. You can watch our report below.
Patel said she is looking forward to having the superstore in Amherst and shortening her commute to access one.
"If I am traveling out of state, I force my relatives to take me there," explained Patel. "If I am in the area, like Ontario, I have a bunch of relatives there. Bring me there. Let me take it. It's hard to get it across the border, obviously. Rochester, I make trips out there just to grab things from Costco."
"I know she's my best friend and I am biased, but I am excited for it to come here," Patel's friend added. "I've always seen it on social media but, it's a new experience."
While Rochester is an option, Ankur Sharma of Amherst said he and his wife prefer a current location that is a little closer. But it requires a passport.
"We go across the border to Niagara Falls," said Sharma. "As you know, it's not easy to bring stuff over every single time and then you have to declare everything when you're coming back and that's not easy because they count everything and you have to pay customs on it."
Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa said he is eager for the store to come to his town and said Amherst is ready.
"We're going to be able to have reduced offerings and that's great, in addition to products that we haven't seen in Western New York yet," said Kulpa.
He told me that the Town received $3.5 million in grant money from the State DOT to widen the intersection at Maple and Bailey to help with traffic flow.
"Not only are we getting a Costco, we're getting a new Dick's House of Sports location," Kulpa shared. "Costco is bringing their gas. We're getting additional competition in the gas market. We're getting that infusion on a site that was previously underutilized."
Meantime, Sharma said she is excited. "We've been waiting for a Costco to open in the City for a long time now, so this has been a long time coming. This is like Christmas to us!"
No word yet on how many jobs this Costco location will bring to Amherst.
Kulpa was also unable to give me a specific opening date at this time because of ongoing changes to the site plans.
