Whatever Happened To Costco's Food Court Roast Beef Sandwich?

It's undeniable that, among some shoppers, the Costco food court holds an almost cult status. A shopping trip to this warehouse retail giant will almost always end (or sometimes begin) with some freshly made goodies from the store's food court. In addition to the unmatched value of the Costco food court, including its famously cheap hot dogs, the other aspect that shoppers appreciate is the consistent menu. Sure, there are changes from time to time, but most people still have a long-time favorite menu item that they look forward to getting whenever they visit the food court. So imagine the rude shock of finding out that your Costco food court stalwart has been discontinued.

It's happened from time to time, as fans of the Costco roast beef sandwich will tell you. That said, it's one of those discontinued Costco food court products that wasn't on the menu long enough for many shoppers to get very attached to the meal before it left in 2024. Even during its time on the menu, the roast beef sandwich admittedly failed to impress — partly because of its plain flavors, but more significantly because of its relatively high price of $9.99. Now the Costco food court has a turkey Swiss sandwich, which has a lower price of $6.99 in most spots and seems to be doing better amongst customers. 

Frankly, nobody's mourning the roast beef sandwich like the discontinued Costco food court pizza everyone wishes would come back. The reasons for the sandwich's unpopularity were discussed in across the internet, with most commenters citing a lack of interesting flavors as one of the major issues. Some commenters even suggested that a much better sandwich could be put together at home, especially if the ingredients were ... purchased from Costco. 

Even so, the sandwich could still have been relatively popular had the menu price been lower. Given its many deals in the food court and beyond, the fact that Costco was selling this sandwich for $9.99 seems almost outrageous and the subsequent customer bewilderment and frustration is understandable. You could literally get two fully cooked and seasoned Costco rotisserie chickens at that price (though, to be fair, if Costco actually priced those for inflation the chickens would be much more expensive). However, the roast beef sandwich's pricing is the opposite of the loss leader pricing strategy that's made the rotisserie chickens so popular. Instead, it appears that the sandwich was priced with a healthy profit margin that left shoppers unsatisfied.