For The Ringer, Alan Siegel pays tribute to the Costco hot dog, still $1.50 at the food court, a price that’s held steady since the ’80s and is unlikely to increase. Siegel digs into why Costco hasn’t changed the deal, and why it still works. This is a festive (if belated) Fourth of July read, and a welcome addition to a growing collection of editors’ picks about Costco, America’s beloved big-box, membership-only warehouse club.

In a world where the McDonald’s Dollar Menu is long gone, a 7-Eleven dog costs over $2, and it’s a challenge to stay on budget at Taco Bell, the Costco frank stands alone. It is America’s greatest hot dog. And the country’s last great deal. 

More stories about Costco

I Want to Live Like Costco People

Jordan Michelman | Taste Cooking | May 5, 2026 | 2,106 words

“Some of us are crying in H Mart; some of us are mourning in Costco.”

Costco in Cancún

Simon Wu | The Paris Review | July 18, 2024 | 2,841 words

“This is the Costco psychology: quality over brand; value over status. To be ripped off is to be taken for a sucker. It is to have your resources wasted, your hard-earned cash sucked into a delusion of taste, timeliness, or class.”

Love Song to Costco

“In the great halls of Costco, two of our greatest fears are assuaged — that of not having enough, and that of not being enough.”

“In the great halls of Costco, two of our greatest fears are assuaged — that of not having enough, and that of not being enough.”

Cheri has been an editor at Longreads since 2014.