Price-conscious shoppers are airing a beef with Costco — sounding off about the eye-popping price tag on the discount warehouse’s latest food court item.
The $9.99 roast beef sandwich that appeared on the menu at a Costco store in Lynnwood, Wash., last week was a huge departure for a big-box retailer that made its mark with its famously cheap $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo, $5 whole rotisserie chicken and $9.95 18-inch pepperoni pizza.
“Is the beef wagyu?” carped Reddit user wats6831.
“It should be for $10.”
The high-roller’s hoagie — a 790-calorie concoction of sliced roast beef, roasted cherry tomatoes, red onions, lettuce and onion relish on an “artisan roll” — drew more than 500 incredulous reactions when a Costco member posted a photo of the store’s menu board on Reddit Sunday.
“Only slightly more expensive than two whole rotisserie chickens,” sniffed one miffed shopper.
Costco is known for its low prices.Shutterstock
“A rotisserie chicken, a slice of pizza, and a hot dog with a drink combined are still cheaper than that sandwich,” said another bargain hunter. “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.”
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.
The $9.99 beef dish is igniting social media.AFP via Getty Images
“Do we make a lot of margin off of it? No,” Jelinek admitted.
Other items sold at Costco’s front-of-store food courts are similarly wallet-friendly. The chain charges $3.99 for a hot turkey and provolone sandwich, $4.99 for a BBQ beef brisket sandwich and $1.99 for a slice of pizza.
The Lynnwood outlet is located 30 miles from Costco’s Issaquah headquarters, sparking speculation that the new nosh is part of a nefarious corporate plan.
The high-roller hoagie sparked fury with shoppers.Getty Images
“It’s so when the next new items start coming in at $7-$8 a piece they look like a good deal,” one cynical commenter claimed.
“Costco brides” have become social-media famous in recent months as shoppers seek bargains in an inflation-hammered economy.
Source link: https://nypost.com/2023/02/25/costco-shoppers-have-beef-with-pricey-new-food-court-item/