Costco Just Launched a New Food Court Item—and Customers Are Shocked By the Price
Costco owes much of its devoted fanfare to its fairly priced, yet tasty food court menu. Customers at the popular warehouse club love that they can snag bargains on both groceries and their post-shopping food court meal, such as the famous $1.50 hot dog combo. Some devoted members will even watch out for any changes on the food court menu and notify fellow fans about interesting new additions.
So it may come as a surprise that when Costco customers recently spotted what appeared to be a brand-new food court menu item at a Washington location, the reaction was largely negative as many took issue with the product's price. A photo posted in the Costco subreddit over the weekend highlighted a new roast beef sandwich listed for $9.99. Reddit users were quick to point out that the price was unusually high, especially in comparison to other Costco items.
"Only slightly more expensive than two whole rotisserie chickens…," one user wrote, referring to the beloved poultry that Costco has long sold for the low price of $4.99.
"This comment ruined it for me. Would I rather have 1 sandwich or 2 rotisserie chickens? I think the chickens win," another user replied.
Some also noted that Costco sells entire pizzas for less than the cost of the one roast beef sandwich. Though prices may vary by location, customers have commonly reported that they can snag whole 18-inch Costco pizzas for $9.95 at the retailer's food courts.
Reddit user u/clisfun commented that the roast beef sandwich is "naturally going to be value-weighed against the whole pizza" due to their similar prices.
"The pizza will win most times," the commenter added.
The roast beef sandwich did appear to be somewhat sizable, at least in the menu photo. A description for the item said that it consisted of sliced roast beef, onion relish, a mayo and mustard blend, lettuce, roasted cherry tomatoes, and red onions on an artisan roll. But users still felt that the $9.99 price was out of line with Costco's usual dialed-back food court costs.
"$10 for a single-serve, individual item doesn't seem to fit in well with the rest of their lineup. I would expect this to be a poor seller and get scratched from the lineup quickly," u/flurvenburbenturb wrote.
It was not immediately clear if the roast beef sandwiches already have or will receive a wide release. Costco declined to comment on the criticism surrounding the pricing.
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