Store known as ‘Asian Costco’ opening location in Las Vegas

A store known as the Asian Costco is coming to Las Vegas.

Resco Food Service plans to open a new location at the northwest corner of Flamingo Road and Jones Boulevard, in the Spring Valley area. A big banner outside the store declares Resco is “Coming Soon,” and records show the Clark County Building Department issued a permit last month, valued at $1.6 million, for tenant improvements.

The permit names Resco as the tenant and indicates the store, at 6150 W. Flamingo Road, is 45,000 square feet. The space was previously occupied by One Stop 4 Flooring.

Resco touts itself as a wholesale supplier with 5,000-plus items, including produce, fish, meat and an extensive selection of Asian foods.

It’s expected to have a grand opening in Las Vegas in January, ahead of the Chinese New Year the following month, said Leo Shi, store manager for Resco’s location in City of Industry, California.

That store, east of Los Angeles, debuted last year, and several Instagram users have called it an Asian Costco-style outlet.

News site SFGate reported this summer that the store had more than 38,000 Instagram followers at the time and was “routinely the backdrop for videos from food influencers,” including one who had several milion followers on social media.

Shi said the company picked Las Vegas because waves of Californians, including members of the Asian community, have been leaving the state, including for Nevada.

Southern Nevada has other Asian grocery stores, including 99 Ranch Market, H Mart and Seafood City. But overall, the potential customer base in the Las Vegas Valley has grown substantially over the years.

Clark County’s Asian population in 2020 was 237,663. That was up almost 41 percent, or an increase of 68,832 people, from a decade earlier, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Tara Peltier, chief operating officer of restaurant-equipment supplier Cresco Resco, which has a location on Charleston Boulevard near Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas, said that the company has no affiliation with Resco Food Service and that she had never heard of the store.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.