Costco in Maine is Open and I Just Got Back

Maine’s first Costco in Scarborough just celebrated its one year anniversary. Opening day was on November 17, 2023. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I went albeit not right at the 8 a.m. opening time.

Questions about the Costco in Maine

Since I first wrote this article, I’ve gotten lots of questions about the Costco in Scarborough, Maine. I’m thrilled to be able to answer all of them now.

Where is Maine’s one and only Costco located?

Costco is off Payne Road in Scarborough. Technically, the address is 455 Scarborough Downs Road. It’s at the intersection of Payne Road, Scarborough Downs Road and Holmes Road.

Pro tip: if you’re coming from the north on Payne Road, say from South Portland or Marden’s just up the road, as I was today, you may have to wait through two or three turn signals to get into Costco. It’s super frustrating. A better bet might be to take a right on Bridges Drive and then a left on Holmes Road so you’ll have a straightaway light.

Otherwise, when coming from the south or from the Maine Turnpike in either direction, you would use Exit 42 to access it (near Cabela’s). Then make a left on Payne Road and you can’t miss Costco on the right.

Before this, if Mainers wanted to shop at Costco, they had to drive to Nashua, New Hampshire, or Danvers, Massachusetts. Even with the annoyingly short turning light, I’m thrilled to have a Costco so close now.

I’m told that there will be a second Costco in Maine coming in 2025 or 2026. Multiple people who live in Bangor and drove to Scarborough to join were told that they would have a much shorter drive soon enough. You see, when they presented their drivers licenses at the membership desk and the employees saw Bangor listed, that’s when they slipped them the news. I don’t have an opening date yet for the Bangor location but I’ll update this article as soon as I find out.

What are hours at the Costco in Scarborough, Maine?

Here are the Scarborough hours:

• Mon-Fri. 10:00AM – 08:30PM
• Sat. 09:30AM – 06:00PM
• Sun. 10:00AM – 06:00PM

The only exception was on opening day, when the store opened at 8 a.m.

Gas station hours vs Costco warehouse hours

On my other blog, I wrote a long post about Costco gas stations. It was in doing research for that article that I discovered that gas station hours at Costco are different from the warehouse itself.

With the Scarborough Costco, the same is true. For example, the gas station opens four hours earlier than the warehouse store and stays open one hour longer Monday through Friday. On Saturday, the gas station is open 3.5 hours before the warehouse opens and closes two hours later. And on Sunday, the gas station opens three hours earlier and closes only one hour later than the warehouse.

Finally, note the mention of Costco being closed on Thanksgiving Day. Now I can add it to my list of stores in Maine closed on national holidays.

How to get gas at Costco

As far as the actual process of how to get gas at Costco, it’s important to understand the setup at most Costcos with gas stations. Every Costco gas station I’ve ever used has a gas station within the store’s parking lot.

However, it has a single entrance into the gas station area. Then, there is a single exit that lets you exit back into the parking lot to go shopping or leave the shopping center entirely. This is how it works at the Scarborough Costco.

When I’m done pumping gas, I can exit left from the gas station area and then turn left again to get back out onto Payne Road by making a right turn. This saves you from having to drive all the way through the parking lot to the main entrance.

On the other hand, if you continue straight or to the right, you’ll be in the parking lot to continue your shopping or, as I mentioned, wind your way to the main entrance. This is a must if you’re leaving and need to turn left on Payne Road. That aforementioned other exit onto Payne Road is a right turn only.

Steps to get gas at Costco

Now to the steps to getting gas at Costco:

1. Enter the Costco gas station area.
2. Take an open spot at a pump.
3. Open your vehicle’s gas tank.
4. Take out your Costco member card or credit card and scan the membership number to activate the pump.
5. Alternately, if you do not have your Costco member card, you can tap your Costco VISA card to pay and it will automatically recognize your member number.
6. Choose the kind of gas you want.
7. Remove the gas pump handle.
8. Pump gas until it shuts off.
9. Remove nozzle from your car, reset it at the pump and choose whether your want a receipt or not

Automotive services at this new Costco

According to this article in the Portland Press Herald, the Costco Wholesale Club store will not only be for shopping but also for getting gas. And they were right.

So expect to see long lines at the Costco gas station once it is open. We were lucky that on opening day, I guess not enough people had membership cards to get gas — a must at Costco. We pulled right up to the pumps and filled up.

Usually, wholesale club members can get gas onsite for cheaper than regular retail gas stations. And the gas was definitely cheaper. We paid $2.89 per gallon. At our local Irving, we pay significantly more than that. Here’s more on Maine gas prices.

Speaking of automotive services, Costco has a full-service tire center. You can access it from outside (if you need to bring your car in for tire service) or from the inside, near the membership desk.

Will there be a pharmacy at the Costco in Maine?

Yes, Costco has a pharmacy. It also has an optical department, for getting glasses and contact lenses, as well as a hearing aid center.

Fun fact: you don’t have to be a Costco member to get your prescription filled. Anyone can walk in and visit the pharmacy.

Also, did you know that you can get pet prescriptions at Costco? We just priced one of my dog Sadie’s medications. Check out these differences:

• At CVS, 120 capsules cost $30
• At Costco, 120 capsules costs $10.99

What are the Costco pharmacy hours?

The Costco pharmacy hours are slightly different from the store’s hours. It appears the pharmacy opens a bit later than the store. Also, it closes one hour earlier. Finally, the pharmacy is always closed on Sunday.

However, note what it says about if/when there is only one pharmacist on duty: the prescription department closes between 1:30 and 2:30 for lunch.

Will Costco be selling beer, wine and liquor?

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that there was plenty of wine for sale at Costco. Like aisles and aisles of it. And look at these prices!

Now the bad news: Costco won’t replace your local package store. The only alcohol I saw for sale was wine. There wasn’t any beer or other kinds of liquor.

Update: as of November 2024, Costco does have hard liquor. It’s not as extensive as the package store but it’s there. You’ll want to head towards the back of the Scarborough warehouse and look for it near the wine. Also, across from the last aisle of frozen foods, you’ll find the hard seltzers.

What brands can you buy at Costco

This article explains which national brands make the Costco brand of items. However, there are plenty of bona fide national brands for sale at Costco, including the one in Scarborough. For example, in the tech area, you can find Apple products. LG sounds bars and Roku TVs.

Costco sells name-brand appliances as well as food. That’s everything from Kings Hawaiian Bread to Oikos yogurt and much more.

However, what surprised me the most were the clothing and footwear brands at Costco. Never before have I seen Uggs at Costco. Nor Carhartt clothing. Or Columbia or Marmot outwear.

What’s cool about these last three is that they are clothing brands that have some sort of warranty or guarantee. In other words, they stand behind the items they make.

Other departments at Costco

You’ll find a wide range of food departments at Costco. This includes:

• Bakery (the cakes are amazing)
• Deli
• Butcher
• Dairy
• Fresh produce
• Frozen foods

Costco supports Maine businesses

Did you know that you can buy Maine-based brands in Costco?

For example, when shopping at a Costco location near Pittsburgh, we bought York-based Stonewall Kitchen’s blueberry preserves. In addition, Costco sells Toms of Maine toothpaste as well as a ravioli featuring Maine lobster.

At the new Scarborough location, I saw two examples of Maine businesses that were represented inside the store. Both instances were bulk gift cards that you could buy to local businesses.

One was bulk gift cards to the Holy Donut. You could get two $50 gift cards for $79.99.

The other was bulk gift cards for Sea Salt Lobster in Saco. Like with the Holy Donut, you could get two $50 gift cards for $79.99.

I’m sure there are other examples. But, boy was the store crowded so I did the best I could in reporting this update.

Reasons to join Costco

My husband and I have been Costco members since 2015, even though we’re never lived super close to a Costco location. We find enough value in shopping at Costco that it is worth it to join versus other warehouse or wholesale clubs.

For example, did you know that Costco is the largest retailer of organic food in the United States? Yeah, you would think Whole Foods would be number one. But, no, Costco is.

Costco Membership Deal via Groupon

The best deal on a Costco Membership right now is through Groupon. When you sign up, you’ll get your one-year membership plus a $40 Costco Digital Shop Card for free.

In case you didn’t know, the Costco Shop Card is the store’s gift card. You can use it in store or online.

This offer is for new Costco memberships only or for former Costco members whose membership expired more than 18 months ago. So, if you’ve moved, there wasn’t a Costco nearby and you let your membership lapse for more than 18 months, you’re good to go to sign up for this deal again!

Also, you can avoid the lines at your Costco location by signing up for this Groupon Costco deal. This was the crowd at the new Costco in Maine near where I live. Yikes!

Terms and Conditions

• After purchase you’ll receive an email from Costco confirming your membership details. To pick up your membership card, stop by the membership counter at any Costco location and bring a copy of that email with your photo ID. Incentive will be emailed within 2 weeks after sign-up to qualifying members.
• You’re receiving a One-Year Costco Gold Star Membership
• A membership card for the Primary Cardholder and one additional Household Card for anyone living at the same address, over the age of 16
• A $40 Digital Costco Shop Card (valid at Costco locations and Costco.com)
• Valid only for new members and those whose previous memberships (Primary and Household) have been expired for at least 18 months or more.
• Please allow up to two hours to receive your confirmation email from Costco. You must have either your Costco or Groupon confirmation email to receive your physical membership card at a Costco location.
• A physical membership card is not required to shop online or receive your incentives.
• Incentive includes a $40 Digital Costco Shop Card
• Digital Costco Shop Card will be emailed within 2 weeks after sign-up to qualifying members.
• Digital Costco Shop Card will be emailed to the email address provided by the Primary Member at time of sign-up.
• Not valid for the renewal of an existing Costco membership.
• To purchase this package, you must be 18 years of age or over, and agree to Costco’s Membership Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
• All sales final.
• $40 Digital Costco Shop Card is not redeemable for cash, except as required by law. Digital Costco Shop Cards are not accepted at Costco Gas Stations, Car Washes, or Food Court Kiosks.

Again, this a Groupon-only deal for a Costco membership.

Other warehouse club memberships

Perhaps you prefer to shop at another warehouse club because it is more convenient to where you live than Costco is. Good news: BJs has Groupon deals right now for memberships as does Sam’s Club. a Costco membership.

Costco is always closed on holidays

Finally, Costco treats its employees well by closing on most major holidays. Every Costco I’ve ever visited has had the sign shown below. This is from the Scarborough store.

It shows the holidays when the store is closed and the employees have the day off.

Overall thoughts about the Costco in Maine

Even though the Costco location was unbelievably crowded on opening day, it was super exciting to be there. And people were genuinely excited to finally be shopping in a Maine Costco.

I overheard everything from “It’s so big” to “I need to see everything” to “OMG, they have Uggs?”

Pro tip: don’t head out to Scarborough on a weekend day. That’s when Costco tends to be the most crowded overall. But if you can get there on a weekday, I think you’ll really love what you find there.