Being half Canadian, with all of my non-immediate family living in another country, every summer my parents, sister, and I would embark on a 10-hour road trip across borders to spend a week seeing my extended family. I would look forward to these trips – while the drive up would be long, seeing my family and eating Canadian (and also Asian!) food would make it well worth it.
I wanted to start off my blog posts talking about something I personally enjoy – Costco. My opinion is that Costco is the best store ever invented – it helps that there’s one super close to me! With the samples, the bulk goods, and the toweringly high shelves with deals tantalizingly close yet hidden underneath the clutches of plastic and packaging, Costco is truly one of the most unique shopping experiences there is.
A few years ago, we went to check out what a Canadian Costco looked like – we were also looking for a packaged version of this really good smoked meat sandwich that is a Montreal staple. Check out https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-schwartzs-smoked-meat-review if you want to hear a bit more about it. We tried the famed smoked meat sandwich at one of their restaurants the prior year, and my family and I knew we had to bring some back.
Normally, the Costcos in the states are busy, yet you can still get around with a shopping cart pretty easily. The various times I’ve been to the Costco on Odgen have been like this – busy but not claustrophobic.
Yet stepping into a Toronto Costco (a Canadian city comparable to the size of Chicago), my family and I were instantly greeted with the sound of a warehouse full of angry shoppers. Something to note was that we were going early on a Saturday morning – not exactly peak hours. The sheer amount of people, however, was astonishing.
I was searching online trying to find pictures that would show the Black Friday-esque scene before us and this picture perfectly shows just how chaotic it was in that warehouse – the aisles filled with shoppers and carts alike.
While I doubt every day at a Canadian Costco is this busy, the sheer amount of people looking to buy in bulk on a Saturday morning was quite astonishing!
While the bulk goods are some of my favorite parts about Costco -I should share a bit about the food court (arguably better than the samples themselves!). Getting a hot dog and a drink for $1.5 or a (really big) slice of pizza for $2 is a really good deal! I personally stick to Mountain Dew (as a drink) with the hotdog – the best pairing by far.
A story for another day is Poutine – a simple Canadian staple: french fries, gravy, and cheese curds (the best approximation could be cutting a mozzarella cheese stick into .5-1-inch cubes). While you can’t find it here in the states, Costcos in Canada does have this – right next to their pizza selection!
While there is always great food at the food court, I think the random nature of the samples is one of the reasons I keep going back to Costco. Ranging from bread and butter to pickled herrings, the sheer variance of these samples is next to none. My personal favorite samples are when a food company comes in and sets up a table – for example I’ve seen pierogis, sausages, and ice cream – and they’re always super delicious!
One other main point I’d like to address is the overall layout of the store – while sometimes it can be a bit of an endeavor to navigate the towering shelves, I really enjoy how the store is set up!
Walking into the store, you’re greeted on one side with massive, projector-sized TVs with most likely the most scientifically interesting things there could be to watch on such a screen. From hummingbirds to breathtaking natural landscapes, one can’t help to be enchanted by these TVs.
On the other side, a (first of many!) wall of products and deals – the most useful products I assume to pressure shoppers to cart these items around the store and thus buy more.
Skipping past about 7 aisles of food processors, lights, and batteries, I find the busiest place in a Costco is the meat/bakery area! Being one of the only areas without 20-foot-tall shelves helps to open up the warehouse, especially for the bountiful amount of bread, deli goods, and rotisserie chickens available.
In summary, Costco is one of my favorite stores! With the layout, the samples, the food court, and most importantly the deals – Costco is a store worth going back to again and again for your bulk item needs.
3 thoughts on “Reflections on Coscto”
Hey Max, the weather is getting kind of chilly, thanks for asking. I really love that you chose Costco as your blog topic, because it’s definitely one of the most beloved stores in the States, so it’s cool to be able to hear about what the store is like in Canada instead. I’m now curious about what other differences there are between the two locations besides the existence of Poutine in Canadian Costcos. I was at first confused by why they would put televisions at the front of the store, because such expensive items are not necessarily ideal impulse buys. But you describe the layout of the store well, reminding me that the buyer is already prepared to make large purchases when they plan to go, so the store is definitely arranged in the perfect way to remind people of what they lack and entice them to replace everything they already own with newer, grander versions. I also agree that the mystery of which samples there are going to be is one of the most thrilling parts of going to Costco. The store is fun not only because of its sheer size, but also because of how the samples and layout make shopping there become an entire interactive experience. Again, I really love that you were able to expand upon a seemingly simple topic, and your analyses of the different parts of the experience make me want to shop there again as soon as possible.
kkelliher
Hi Max, I really enjoyed reading about your experiences with Costco. I too love Costco, even if I do not go that often. I live right next to the new Costco that opened up in Naperville but my mom is not really a big fan of the store so we don’t even have a membership. It’s odd, but reading your blog has made me realize that I too have a ton of odd memories of Costco. For instance, when the new Costco first opened up I interviewed the chairman of the Naperville Chamber of Commerce about what it meant for business in Naperville for my Honors English Journalism class. Also last year, me and my friends would split a Costco pizza every day on friday for lunch. And when I visited my cousins in Texas, we got a large jar of Jelly Belly jelly beans and we would eat them over the course of a month. I agree with you that Costco is a store like no other; because of its unique offerings and business strategy, its entrance into the American zeitgeist was inevitable. I really enjoyed reading your piece that shined a light on something that most people don’t really think about.
mhkhan1
I love Costco posts…mainly because I don’t go to Costco!
hhitzeman