The first thing to open on Golden Valley Parkway wasn't the store. It was the gas. On September 4, 2026, Sam's Club started pumping fuel at 16174 Golden Valley Parkway, members only, almost three weeks before the warehouse doors opened next door. The City of Lathrop's grand opening notice counts 16 pumps.
The building itself opened Thursday, September 24, at 16150 Golden Valley Parkway. The Stockton Record reported that it's the first Sam's Club in San Joaquin County, the eighth in Northern California and the 31st in the state. That makes it more than one new store. Stanford Crossing, the shopping center the store anchors, is now a second retail hub in Lathrop, one that runs on a different kind of trip than Lathrop Marketplace on Louise Avenue. The shops around it are opening one by one.
What Opened, and When
The project took a while to become real. Here's the timeline from public reporting:
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 24, 2025 | City of Lathrop announces Sam's Club for Stanford Crossing along I-5 |
| May 7, 2025 | Record reports AutoZone, Blue Rain Car Wash and a Fast and Easy Chevron as incoming center tenants |
| July 16, 2026 | Record reports the store under construction, expected to open in the fall |
| September 4, 2026 | Members-only fuel station opens |
| September 23, 2026 | Members-only soft opening, 5 to 8 p.m. |
| September 24, 2026 | Grand opening at 7:30 a.m. |
USA Today's opening coverage listed three days of sampling, giveaways and games, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., September 24 through 26. It also listed an introductory membership price that ran through September 30: $50 for Plus and $25 for the standard Club tier. That offer has ended, so current membership prices are whatever the club charges today. The city's notice also said Sam's Club would give more than $30,000 in grants to local and regional nonprofits as part of the opening.
Sources disagree a little on size. The city and USA Today put the building at nearly 170,000 square feet, while ABC10 reported about 165,000. Either way, it's one of the biggest single retail buildings in the city.
What's Inside That Changes a Weekly List
A warehouse club is more than bulk groceries. The official Club #7684 page lists these services at the Lathrop location:
- Pharmacy
- Optical center
- Hearing-aid center
- Auto & Tires
- Wireless mobile
- Sam's Cafe
- Fuel station
- Scan & Go checkout, free curbside pickup, and delivery in as little as one hour
The city's notice adds full-service floral and an expanded fresh food section.
Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Plus members can shop early, from 8 to 9 a.m. These come from a live listing, so check them before an early run, especially around holidays. Plenty of errands already happen in Lathrop, but a tire install, an eye exam and a prescription pickup can now share one parking lot.
Before September, the Bulk Run Meant Leaving Town
This part is new for Lathrop. Until this fall, the closest warehouse clubs were all in other cities. Costco lists its Manteca warehouse at 2440 Daniels St., its Tracy warehouse at 3250 W. Grant Line Road, and its Stockton warehouse at 1616 E. Hammer Lane. Those stores are still open, and they're a different membership. If you already belong to Costco, nothing about that changes.
What changes is the option for Sam's Club members. The Stanford Crossing developer says Sacramento, more than 50 miles away, had the nearest Sam's Club before Lathrop opened. It describes the new store as serving Manteca, Tracy, Stockton and Modesto as well. That's the developer's own claim, but if it holds, Lathrop is now the regional destination for this club rather than a place people drive out of to reach one.
That matters for how the center around it fills in. A store that draws shoppers from four or five surrounding cities brings a steady stream of cars to Golden Valley Parkway. Fast food, a car wash and a hotel are the kinds of tenants that follow that kind of traffic.
The Anchor Came First. The Rest of the Center Is Following.
Stanford Crossing is filling in tenant by tenant, and the announced list says a lot about where the center is headed. Back in May 2025, the Record named AutoZone, Blue Rain Car Wash and a Fast and Easy Chevron as incoming tenants. Here's where things stand now, according to the developer's updated center listing.
Open now
- Sam's Club and its fuel station
- AutoZone at 16372 Golden Valley Parkway
- Chevron, with snacks and convenience items
- Jamba at 16460 Golden Valley Parkway
- Maverik, nearby on East Louise Avenue
Announced or still developing
- Blue Rain Car Wash, an express wash with towel service
- Wendy's
- Ono Hawaiian BBQ
- The Little Butterflies, a daycare for infants and toddlers
- A Hyatt hotel
- An assisted living facility
So far the open list is mostly car-oriented: auto parts, two fuel stops, a smoothie counter. Food and lodging make up most of the announced list. Those businesses don't have public opening dates in the research behind this post, so treat them as plans until they open.
Two Retail Hubs, Two Kinds of Trips
Lathrop already had a retail center, and it isn't going anywhere. Lathrop Marketplace on Louise Avenue has Target, In-N-Out Burger, Sprouts Farmers Market, Starbucks, Chipotle, Kung Fu Tea and Chick-fil-A. Its newer arrivals include Sutter Health Urgent Care, Sourdough & Co., Cold Stone, Curry Pizza, 88 Bao Bao Dumplings & Ramen and Tulip Kids Academy.
The two centers do different jobs. Lathrop Marketplace covers sit-down meals, specialty groceries at Sprouts, a quick Target run, and urgent care. Stanford Crossing is built around bulk shopping, fuel and car care, with quick-service food on the way. They're close enough to hit both in one loop. A Saturday could look like this: fill the tank and stock up on Golden Valley Parkway, then grab dumplings or a sandwich on Louise Avenue on the way home.
River Islands is a third kind of trip. Its Town Center page still lists the Redwood Café as "Opens 2026," but that page dates from January and we couldn't confirm an opening day. Waterfront dining and the lake are one draw. Errands in north Lathrop are a different one.
What Hasn't Been Settled
A few things about the new center are still open questions.
Traffic is the obvious one. The city put out a request for planning studies on the Lathrop Road and I-5 interchange in 2024. The work covers traffic and environmental studies to compare design options. That request doesn't say the work is tied to or paid for by Sam's Club, and no traffic package specific to the store turned up in public records. Closer to the store, the city accepted a new traffic signal at Golden Valley Parkway and Locomotive Street at its July 13, 2026 council meeting.
Golden Valley Parkway is also still growing. A city notice posted July 23, 2026 describes a planned crossing of Stewart Canal near Stewart Road to connect future road segments. That's a proposal, not something under construction yet.
The tenant list will also keep changing. When Blue Rain, Wendy's, Ono Hawaiian BBQ and the Hyatt open, Stanford Crossing will have its own food and lodging. The Sam's Club store page and the City of Lathrop's economic development updates are the most direct sources to watch.
If you want to know what north Lathrop's new retail center could mean for a home you own or one you're considering, Just 1 Real Estate follows these openings block by block and can walk you through the nearby streets in person. Schedule a free consultation and we'll go over what's open, what's announced, and what's still on the drawing board.
