06-05-2025
The wait is over: Costco opens early in Stuart, with about 1,000 in line
This story has been updated to add new information, photos and video.
STUART — The waiting game came to an end at 7:30 a.m. April 25 as about 1,000 people, some who had been in line since before dawn, filed into the new Costco store following more than a decade of delay.
People were in line as early 5:15 a.m. A massive crowd stood waiting at the front of the store before the doors opened, but the line snaked around past the tire center and even further, into the parking lot, before opening.
Christopher Milu, first customer in the new Costco Wholesale in Stuart at 3173 S. Kanner Highway, exits the store after purchasing some of his favorite items on April 25, 2025. The store opened at 7:30 a.m. to a crowd lined up outside. Milu was first in line with a shopping cart.
Costco's first customer
Stuart resident Christopher Milu was the first shopper to set foot inside. The first to line up, Milu spent his morning catching up on LinkedIn while he waited, he said.
'I'm an early guy,' Milu said. 'My wife thinks I am crazy.'
Milu came out with what he described as "man stuff": beef jerky, ribs and steak. His wife will come back for toiletries, fruits and vegetables, he said.
"We've been waiting," he said. "Now we're happy it's here."
Costco's first purchase
Port St. Lucie resident Michelle Lynch was the first person out of the store. She was on her way to see her husband at work.
"I was here for the pizza," she said as she carried a slice of cheese pizza. Lynch was in line at 5:58 a.m.
Shopping cart: Golf clubs, eggs and pasta
Maria Coradini, a self-described snowbird from New Jersey living in Port St. Lucie, was pushing a shopping cart with two sets of golf clubs, a carton of two dozen eggs and boxes of pasta.
'Before the opening here, I used to go to the (Costco store) in Melbourne,' she said. 'And it is quite far from Port St. Lucie.'
Costco customers line up before the 7:30 a.m. April 25, 2025, opening of the new store in Stuart at 3173 S. Kanner Highway, just south of Martin County High School.
Costco free samples ranked
David Deliz, of Palm City, ranked his top three favorite free samples on the store's opening day.
'The ribeye is excellent, the chicken sausage is pretty good and this…' Deliz said, before taking a bite of a chicken alfredo with penne pasta sample, 'is delicious.'
He's been to Costco Wholesale stores at least 500 times, he said.
Shoppers stop for free samples of Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna on crackers while shopping in the new Costco Warehouse, 3173 S. Kanner Hwy., Stuart, on April 25, 2025.
'I've been coming to Costco forever. I wanted this thing to be opened in '16' in Palm City, he said. 'They should have gone to Port St. Lucie, but that's OK.'
He wanted to get some bourbon, but the line to the liquor store was too long, he said. Instead, he bought golf clubs and shrimp.
His son called him as he was being interviewed.
'Do you want anything from Costco?' he asked on the phone. 'It's a zoo right now.'
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Janet Rogers enjoys Costco's $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo in the new Costco that opened 8 a.m. April 25, 2025, in Stuart, 3173 S. Kanner Hwy.
$1.50 hot dog-and-soda combo
Janet Rogers sat down to enjoy a hot dog around 9 a.m. It was a snack break after a crowded, chaotic shopping experience at Costco, Rogers said.
'It was an outing. It was an experience,' she said.
She applied mustard and relish to the hot dog that she got at the food court.
'It's a great hot dog,' she said. 'Did you know Costco sells more hot dogs than all the baseball stadiums combined?'
Inspired by 'Costco Guys'
So was the chicken bake as exciting as viral sensation Costco Guys made it out to be?
'Absolutely, 100%,' said Sara Anderson, of Stuart. 'I've been an OG chicken baker, but they reignited my passion.'
The chicken bake is a handheld pocket filled with chicken, cheese, Caesar dressing and bacon baked inside a crispy, golden-brown crust.
'I would say it's like a pot pie — but not really,' she said. 'It reminds me of that because of the breading on the outside and the chicken on the inside.'
Publix loses a customer
'We love Costco,' said Julie Pfeffer, 55, of Stuart, who was with her husband Paul, 65.
The couple got everything they wanted but are planning to come back for a garden shed.
'I'm never, ever going to Publix again,' she said.
Eager shoppers wait in a long line in the parking lot waiting to get in to the new Costco Warehouse during its grand opening April 25, 2025, at 3173 S. Kanner Hwy., Stuart.
Parking tickets but no comment from Costco
The 1,725-space parking lot appeared full by about 8:15 a.m. as people were driving around, waiting for the earliest shoppers to leave. Customers even parked illegally along the curb.
Later in the morning, Stuart police wrote tickets for illegal parking along SE Legacy Way, a new street which connects Kanner Highway with Willoughby Boulevard, spokesperson Brian Bossio said.
Store Assistant General Manager James Stedham declined to comment on the store's first day of operation and the opening-day crowd, some of whom waited more than two hours for the door to open.
Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at and at 720-288-6882.
Jack Randall is TCPalm's economy and real estate reporter. You can reach him at or 904-466-4755.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: About 1,000 people wait as Costco opens its doors in Stuart
