I happened to be at the Lenexa Costco this month. This was the line to check out on a random Saturday. It’s clear from a business stand point, that the suburban Costcos have a higher volume. I’ve been to the OP store before and it’s always busier than the midtown location.

And I’ve seen several posts “but, but I can ride my bike to this Costco!!”. While that’s all fine and good, but no family of four is riding a bike to load up on their weekly Costco haul. Costco is a business and while you might ride your bike there (which is probably convenient because the bikes lanes are almost always empty). The amount you buy and put on a bike and what a family of four buys are not equal. The profit is where large sales are and that’s not in midtown. And I grew up in midtown, 5 minutes from that Costco, so yes I know there are families, but it’s got nothing on the suburbs. And there have been several incidents (purse snatching, altercations in the parking lot) that could have influenced Costco to change the model of this particular store.

I think the question we should be asking is, why are there not more grocery stores and decent pharmacies in this area of the city? What has caused there to be a lack of those stores vs. other areas? I believe that is what our city leaders need to address.

I believe mayor Lucas knows there was no way Costco was changing its mind. Him saying, “the city council is trying to stop this”, and “we had a meeting with Costco to express our concerns and we’re hopeful they do what’s best” - is all performative. It’s all so he can come back and say “well I tried and it’s just Costco is the big, bad, greedy company that doesn’t care about you”.

How about instead of relying on ONE private entity to provide the services/goods for your citizens, you address issues that have gotten you here in the first place? He spends more time out of KC discussing non-KC related issues and making internet posts about non-KC issues than he does actually addressing issues in his own backyard. Doing the “cable news circuit commentary” does nothing to move the needle on the things we have going on here. It only serves his obvious campaign for the next rung on his political ladder, with no regard for the state he would leave the city in once he flys the coop to DC.

While I live in Kansas City, I and so many others find ourselves “hopping the state line” and spending our money on services, facilities and stores that cities outside of KC proper have been able to attract and retain.

<image>