Costco members and keyboard warriors are collectively losing their minds over the sticker shock of a new food court item rolled out at one of the popular bulk supplier’s Washington locations.
Costco, known for its incredible low prices on most good and especially for its famous deals at the food court, found itself roiled in controversy after revealing a $10 roast beef sandwich. Sure, the sandwich is probably delicious, but this is the same food court that offers a $1.50 got dog and soda and always refused to raise the price.
Customers can also get a slice of pizza for $2 or the entire pie for $10.
Fox New Business wrote that Costco faced a torrent of befuddlement and backlash for it’s proposal to make hungry patrons pay “$9.99 for sliced roast beef with onion, relish, mayo/mustard blend, lettuce, roasted cherry tomatoes and red onions on a ciabatta roll.”
Redditors were particularly not pleased by the shocking announcement. In a stream of confused and often angry posts, the online community voiced their opinions loud and clear.
“10 dollars? Is it the same size as the pizza?” one user commented.
“I’d say it’s about 1.5 ciabatta rolls worth with that call count not worth imo,” another said. “I think this might be market testing to see if people will buy more expensive food court items.”
“The pizza will win most times,” another wrote, pointing out the obvious discrepancy between how much food gets delivered by an entire pizza compared to a single sandwich.
“$10 for a single-serve, individual item doesn’t seem to fit in well with the rest of their lineup,” replied yet another commenter. “I would expect this to be a poor seller and get scratched from the lineup quickly. Especially concerning this is more than 2x the cost of the turkey/pesto.”
“A rotisserie chicken, a slice of pizza, and a hot dog with a drink combined are still cheaper than that sandwich,” observed another user. “Hard pass.”
“I just tried the sandwich,” another claimed. “It tasted good, but not $10 good … It’s hard to go for this when you know you could get a whole pizza.”
“Only slightly more expensive than two whole rotisserie chickens,” yet another remarked, again pointing to another of Costco’s most famous bargains.
The New York Post harkened back to the food court story of the famous hot dog and soda, writing that the CEO even acknowledges they are taking a beating on the bottom line in an effort to keep a staple on the menu and people coming through the doors.
Costco CEO Craig Jelinek revealed in December that the big-box retailer has maintained its $1.50 price point for the hot dog-and-soda meal despite surging inflation by manufacturing its own franks — and by accepting the cheap eats as a loss leader to get hungry shoppers in the door.
It is unclear how many markets have been introduced to this new menu item, but if Reddit is any indication, it seems like Costco won’t be long for a discount to its sandwich or discontinuation altogether.
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