Costco’s Clever Plan To Sell Both Gas & Liquor In D.C. Results In Death Threats

In Washington, D.C., you can’t sell alcoholic beverages and gasoline at the same business. But when Costco came to town, it didn’t throw up its hands and do away with one or the other parts of its business. Instead, it got clever and figured out a way to sell both booze and discount gas, a move that hasn’t gone over well with other gas stations in the city.

To get around the law, in 2012 Costco split its then-under-construction D.C. site into two, and created a wholly owned subsidiary — CWC WDC LLC — to run the gas station. Thus, the warehouse store could get its liquor license and the gas station could sell gas at around $.30/gallon cheaper than competitors in the capital.

But the Washington Post recounts how things got ugly when local gas station operators tried to fight Costco.

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