This Costco Rival Is Expanding From Coast to Coast
While some Costco members could never fathom leaving their beloved wholesale store, there are some up-and-coming warehouses that have very similar bulk sizes. One is the US Foods CHEF'STORE, which has recently started rapidly expanding across the U.S.
The Rosemont, Ill-based CHEF'STORE has plans to open four new locations in Merced and Santa Cruz in Calif., Helena, Mont., and Winston-Salem, N.C., according to a recent press release.
The California locations will join 15 others in the state and are slated to open in the Fall of this year. The Merced store will be 19,000 square feet and the Santa Cruz will be one of its bigger stores at 23,000 square feet. The new US Foods CHEF'STORE in Montana will be its third location in the Treasure State. It will be 20,000 square feet and will open in early 2023.
Lastly, spanning the breadth of the U.S from the Pacific all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, the North Carolina location will be the second warehouse in the state. It will feature 23,500 feet of shopping space and is slated to open its doors in December of this year.
Once the new ones open, US Foods CHEF'STORE will have 87 locations in 13 states. The company has largely been known for catering to restaurant industry professionals in the past, however, home chefs have found that not only do the warehouses not require a membership, but its bulk ingredients and food prices are on par with most other big warehouse brands.
Although smaller than popular Costco warehouses, these feature a selection of fresh meat, produce, seafood, dairy, deli, baking, restaurant essentials, and janitorial supplies although it doesn't carry electronics, home goods, and pharmacy supplies like Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club.
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The company recently opened two other locations in Visalia, Calif., and Lynchburg, Va. One in Lynchburg, Va. opened in early May and one in Visalia, Calif. debuted last February. Before that, the company acquired the Smart Foodservice Warehouse chain in 2020 and has since rebranded all stores.
