We live in an increasingly chaotic 21st century. Our lives are characterized by demanding schedules, pinched budgets, and the threat of what may be our crumbling empire spiraling into WWIII.
It's no surprise, then, that many of us cling to a few possessions, people, or sentiments that make us feel good. For some, that's the warm feeling of family gathering round the dinner table after a hard day's work for a home-cooked meal. Others may look to their investment portfolio and swell with a sense of pride and purpose. Still others attend church for a grounding sense of community and meaning.
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Some folks are easier to please. They go for the simpler things in life, like the Costco (COST) hot dog that is -- and always has been -- just $1.50.
And while family, communities, and investments are fickle and complicated creatures that have their fair share of ups and downs, the Costco hot dog rarely disappoints. Always fresh, hot, and on-demand during regular operating hours, the hot dog has always been a point of pride for the wholesaler, which proudly reminds customers that the hot dog and soda combo has been $1.50 since it was born the mid 1980s.
Imagine, then, these hot dog devotees' disappointment when the retailer suddenly yanked their beloved chopped onions from the bazaar, right around the onset of the covid pandemic.
At the time, it was widely reported that Costco removed its diced onions as a part of safety and hygiene measures to prevent the transmission of germs. But the wholesaler kept other condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, relish. Customers were crestfallen. Angry tweets, Reddit rants and blogs went wild. It seemed that diced onions had taken their final walk down the primrose path, never to be seen again. A distant memory lost to a pre-pandemic world, like so many other joys in life.
Costco Brings Back its Beloved Condiment
But, Costco may have heard the cries of the onion die-hards. Just as it brought back its popular sample stations, Costco will now also bring back its diced onions.
"Yes we can confirm that Diced Onions are returning soon," Costco said in a May 1 statement.
It isn't immediately clear when the diced onions will make their hotly-anticipated return, but some eagle-eyed shoppers in the Pacific Northwest spotted signage indicating the condiment's imminent return in stores.
It's been speculated that the onions will be dispensed in individual condiment cups, rather than via a nifty onion-crank, which was a communal mechanism that can obviously harbor tons of germs.
And of course, we can still count on the onion vessel, aka our beloved hot dog, to stay firm at its very reasonable price of $1.50.
"If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out," Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal warned its CEO circa 2009. Now, after 10 years, several recessions, a pandemic, and record-high food prices, that dog is still going strong. It's a cinderella story to be passed on for generations.
