COLCHESTER – After years of negotiations and major construction that disrupted their parking lot traffic significantly, Costco’s Colchester location has been prevented from filling their newly completed gas pumps with gasoline. A lawsuit filed by local competitor Maplefields has halted the actual selling of gasoline until nearby roads and intersections can be improved, the work for which is currently scheduled to take place in three years time. Now Costco is making use of those new pumps to sell something other than gasoline until their legal issues can be resolved.

“The only thing Vermonters use more of than gasoline, is maple syrup,” said Costco employee Mabel Cirple. “The new service has been very popular. You just pull up to the pumps like normal, bring your own container of course, select Light Amber, Medium Amber, or Dark Amber, and then fill up! We’re selling a lot of syrup; it’s fantastic!”

Time will tell if Costco will eventually make the switch to gasoline once their legal hurdles have been cleared. Some employees feel that the syrup pumps will end up being more lucrative. Gasoline is selling state-wide for around $2.50 per gallon, while the Costco pumps are selling syrup for $72.23 per gallon.

Maplefields, which also sells syrup, is considering filing another injunction against Costco’s syrup pumps, for many environmental reasons that have nothing to do with the declining sales of their own maple products.