Every expats’ favorite subject, the S & R Membership Shopping Warehouse. Well maybe not everybody’s, but a popular topic none the less. Well today, the day we’ve all been waiting for, finally arrived. The Davao branch of this Costco style store opened it’s doors to the public.

So how was it? Was it as crazy as expected? Did they in fact have many items that couldn’t be gotten elsewhere? Was the food service area worth waiting for?

Short answer, in case you aren’t interested in reading further – yes, to all the questions above.

It was crazy waiting outside for them to open. There were a lot of people, maybe not as many as I had thought there would be, I think some are waiting for it to die down a bit, but still a huge crowd. There was a band playing, the parking lot was completely full, the usual shoving and pushing, lack of clear lines, and much anticipation. It was humid outside, but the sun was under cover, so it could have been worse.

They had many, many Kirkland branded items. Other brands that we know and love, including the Northwest favorite, Tillamook – ice cream and cheese. Unfortunately my most desired item, fresh whole wheat flour tortillas, was nowhere to be found. I have hopes they will have them in the future.

Of course I tried the hot deli area, another section I hope to visit often. I had a HUGE slice of cheese pizza for P89 and a slice of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for another P89. Both were good, though I have to give the nod slightly to the Costco pizza. Not by much though. This will certainly suffice.

I used my P200 Gift Certificate that in essence made my first year membership P500. I was able to get out of there spending only about P1200, including the lunch. I will venture to guess there were not many others that left having spent less.

I understand the meat section had a good selection and the prices were reasonable, at least that’s what was reported to me by my friend Bob Martin, of Live in the Philippines fame (among many other sites), who was kind enough to let me accompany him and his family to the opening. I lost track of them shortly after going inside, but it’s the kind of place that you want to take your time and look things over, so that was in the plans anyway.

I’m not going to give a blow by blow, product by product listing. I will assume that much of it will change with time, such as Costco did. Some items will be mainstays, but part of the appeal is seeing what new items come in.

If you are looking for something, I’ll check and see if they have it, my next time through. I’d think that would be a least a week, if not more though.

Congrats to Davao for this new specialty store and thanks for S & R Membership Shopping for coming to Davao. Welcome!!!

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By Category: Business, Davao, Food Tags: , , , ,