Costco Wholesale keeps seniors guessing as warehouses adjust to panic shopping

SOCIAL DISTANCING: The Costco Wholesale warehouse in Teterboro, N.J., makes checking out during the Covid-19 pandemic easy by having an employee send members -- who form a single line -- to a usually empty checkout lane. I was next when I took this photo on April 21.

GUESSING GAME: But Costco keeps older members guessing by changing the hours for ages 60 and above at least 3 times in the last month or so. Now, those hours in Teterboro are 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekdays, forcing older members to show up an hour earlier than before.

Older members must deal  

with 3 changes in special hours

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- A couple of days ago, I showed up at my Costco in Teterboro at around 9:30 in the morning to find no line of members outside the warehouse.

Inside, I found paper towels, toilet paper and spring water -- all of which were running low during our quarantine.

A week earlier, there were no paper towels to be had after a long line of members were allowed into the warehouse starting at 8 a.m., and sacked the place, as often happens at Costco warehouses and other food stores during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I wasn't aware that Costco Wholesale had revised opening hours for the Teterboro warehouse, as well as the special hour reserved for members ages 60 and over.

New hours

Now, older members are allowed in from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekdays -- an hour earlier than before, and the third time the special hour has been changed at the Teterboro warehouse, which opens to all members at 9 a.m.

But the Costco warehouse in Wayne -- known for its house-label imported and domestic wines, as well as premium brands of liquor -- doesn't open for seniors until 9 a.m. and for others until 10 a.m.

On May 4, the Costco Business Center in Hackensack closed to walk-in business so I can no longer go there from my home a couple of miles away, if I run out of an item.

You can find "Coronavirus Updates" on the website of your Costco warehouse.

Whole Foods Market in Paramus also reserves 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. for 60-plus shoppers.

Warehouse clubs

Costco is a multi-billion dollar global retailer with more warehouse club locations than either of its competitors, Sam's Club (owned by Walmart) and B.J.'s Wholesale Club.

In January 2018, Walmart announced the closing of 63 Sam's Clubs across the United States, including one in Fairbanks, Alaska.

A Costco Wholesale opened for business in the same building in November 2018, a few months after the Sam's Club closed.

In New Jersey

I am a loyal Costco shopper for many reasons, including an 18-inch food court pizza for $9.95, an increasing number of organic foods and produce; fresh wild-caught fish and a pharmacy.

I shop for food at Whole Foods and ShopRite, too, but Costco's prices are lower, and often there are sales or instant savings taken at the register on many items.

Costco Travel can save you money on tours, flights, hotel rooms and rental cars. 

Costco also has an auto buying and discount service program; and sells insurance and home improvements.

Free membership

Best of all, a Costco membership basically is free, if you use the Costco no-fee Visa credit card, earning 4% cash back on gasoline purchases (even at Costco), 3% on restaurant meals, 2% on travel and 1% on all other purchases. 

I have an Executive Membership for $120 a year, but earn 2 times or 3 times that much in cash back every year. A regular membership is $60 a year.

Steering around the farmed fish at Costco. Plus, first (maybe last) visit to Wegmans

FROM COSTCO WHOLESALE: Fresh, wild flounder caught in the United States turns snowy white when prepared with pesto, organic spinach, tomatoes and pitted olives, above; or with pesto, tomatoes and pitted olives, below. See Victor's Healthy Kitchen on YouTube for how-to videos.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Let me count the ways I love the wild-caught fish I find at Costco Wholesale.

The refrigerated cases in Teterboro and Wayne offer skinless-and-boneless fillets of Cod from Iceland, Flounder from the United States or Canada; Haddock, Silver Corvina from Suriname in South America, skin-on Ocean Perch and whole Snappers from Panama.

From time to time, I also see thick, wild-caught ahi-tuna steaks, fat fillets of wild halibut; and monkfish, which has the texture of lobster when cooked.

They're the best reasons to avoid the farmed fish you'll see nearby, especially the bargain-basement Farmed Tilapia from Colombia or the enormous slabs of artificially colored Farmed Atlantic Salmon raised with antibiotics and who knows what else.

FROM COLOMBIA TO COSTCO IN WAYNE: Fresh Farmed Tilapia ($4.99 a pound), also known as Saint Peter Fish, is called a "good alternative" by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch when the fillets come from Colombia, but Tilapia fillets from Peru and Ecuador are rated "best choice."

FROM NORWAY TO WAYNE: Costco Wholesale carries two types of Fresh Farmed Atlantic Salmon, including these artificially colored fillets from Norway, where they are raised without harmful antibiotics ($8.99 a pound). However, the best Farmed Atlantic Salmon comes from Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified salmon farms, and the Costco label doesn't mention the council.

AT COSTCO IN WAYNE: Fresh, wild Flounder Fillets were $7.99 a pound. With no Sunday blue laws to worry about in Passaic County, I also picked up 7 bottles of Kirkland Signature red wine, including Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Rioja Reserva.

FROM CANADA TO WAYNE: Fresh, wild Ocean Perch Fillets were $5.49 a pound on Sunday at the Costco Wholesale, 149 Route 23 north, in the Wayne Towne Center mall.

FROM SOUTH AMERICA TO WAYNE:  Fresh, wild Silver Corvina is an unusually meaty fish when cooked ($8.99 a pound).

FROM PANAMA TO TETERBORO: My wife bought fresh, whole wild-caught Snappers from Panama at the Costco in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center, 2 Teterboro Landing Drive; wrapped them in foil with sweet peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes and seasonings, and baked them for 1 hour. Delicious.

At Wegmans in Montvale

The opening of an enormous Wegmans supermarket in Montvale last September was a non-event to me and other residents of Hackensack nearly 16 miles away.

The company, based in Rochester, N.Y., dragged its feet for years on opening in Bergen County, then picked a town on the far-off New York State border.

Last Thursday, when me and my son were returning home from Bear Mountain State Park in New York State, I stopped in and picked up a few things. 

I didn't see any reason to make a special return trip, though.

TOO BIG FOR MY TASTE: In the produce section, I strained to see the back of the store.

COMPARED TO COSTCO: I could save 22 cents if I bought 3 pounds of organic bananas at Wegmans in Montvale instead of at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, where they are $1.99.

SPARKLING WATER: I found a good deal on a dozen naturally flavored cans of seltzer for $2.50 with a Shoppers Club Card. I bought 4 packs for $10, but avoided Blackberry Tangerine and Coconut Lime.

TOO SWEET: A 6-ounce container of Wegmans Fruit On The Bottom Lowfat Yogurt contains 32 grams or nearly 8 teaspoons of natural and added sugars. I passed.

GOES ON AND ON: This photo shows the center section of Wegmans; there are large wings on each side. We spent about 30 minutes there, but never saw the fresh seafood department. The supermarket is at 100 Farm View, Montvale. Open 7 days from 6 a.m. to midnight. 

Cheap Aroma rice cooker has me eating my words of praise, Costco wines + more

This Aroma Professional Rice Cooker came with a 5-year warranty, but the appliance started malfunctioning in October, about 2 years after we purchased it at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro for the bargain-basement price of $29.99.

One feature we liked was this collector, which caught condensation from inside the electric cooker. We could remove it to throw the water into the sink.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Forgive the play on words, but I smelled a bargain in October 2015 when I saw an electric rice cooker going for only $29.99 at my Costco Wholesale warehouse.

As I put the box into my shopping cart, my wife's complaints about the slowness of our Panasonic 10-cup Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker rang in my ears.

The Panasonic cooker I got from Amazon.com in April 2013 cost $67.99, but listed for $89.99 -- three times the price of the bargain Aroma Professional Cooker.

But the Aroma cooker, made in China, stopped working in October, two years after I bought it.

So now that I've returned the malfunctioning Aroma cooker to my Teterboro Costco for a full refund, I am ready to eat the words of praise I lavished on it in a post on Do You Really Know What You're Eating?

$29.99 rice cooker is better

 than one costing three times the price

Our Panasonic 10-cup Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker is slower, but has operated flawlessly since we bought it in April 2013.

In October 2015, the 5-year warranty listed on the box hooked me, but to get the cooker repaired or replaced, I would have had to pay for shipping the Aroma cooker both ways to San Diego, Calif., at a cost that would have exceeded the purchase price ($22 each way). 

Cuckoo rice cookers, which are made in South Korea, were on sale at the H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday.

Our disposable culture

I received several comments in response to my original post on purchasing the cheap rice cooker, and the one from Phoebe Alexis proved prescient.

"The reason why many Asian folks invest in brands like Zojirushi and Tiger is because those rice cookers last! Parts can be replaced!

"We live in a disposable culture and should concentrate more on a few quality products that will LAST.... I seriously doubt that Aroma Cooker can match a Tiger (made in Japan) cooker that will last for years!!!! I appreciate your point of view but am very skeptical."

So, Pheobe, wherever you are, thanks for the valuable lesson in price v. quality or as many say, You get what you pay for.

Cases of wine on display at the Costco Wholesale in the Wayne Towne Center mall (149 Route 23 in Wayne). Unlike the liquor-store concession at the Teterboro warehouse, the Wayne Costco sells private-label wines from California, France, Italy, Argentina and other countries under the Kirkland Signature label.

Kirkland Signature 2014 Meritage from California's Napa Valley is a red wine made from five different grapes, including Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Best value in wine

Kirkland Signature wines from Costco offer the best value, but in northern New Jersey, only the warehouse in the Wayne Towne Center has a state liquor license to sell them.

One example is the Kirkland Signature 2015 Malbec from Argentina at $6.99, one of the bottles of red wine I picked up last Thursday.

Others included Kirkland Signature 2014 Meritage, $11.59; 2015 Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon, $12.99; and 2016 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, also $12.99.

TY KU Silver Junmai Sake from Japan was $14.99 at the Wayne Costco.

A whole Jamon Serrano from Spain, where it was cured for 14 months, with a stand and slicing knife was $129.99 at the Wayne Costco. The weight was given as 15.43 pounds to 16.53 pounds.

More organics

On a visit to the Teterboro Costco on Saturday, when I replaced a damaged Michelin tire on my car, I noticed more organic products than before.

It's now possible to buy the basics -- bread, dairy or almond milk, eggs, salad mix, coffee beans and many other items -- and choose chemical-free organic over conventionally raised or grown.

This 2-pound, 8-ounce bag of Fair Trade Organic Whole Bean Coffee from Peru is not only free of harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but also is a good deal at $10.99, and I was able to grind it at the Teterboro warehouse, below. 

I use a Turkish grind in my drip coffee maker to expose as much coffee as possible to hot water, producing a more robust cup of Joe.

Other organic coffee beans were available, including these from Mexico.

Plainville Farms Organic Turkey Breast (1.25 pounds for $10.89) may be the only cold cut sold at the Teterboro Costco that wasn't made from poultry or meat raised on harmful human antibiotics.

Pasta Prima Organic Spinach & Cheese Ravioli are delicious cooked, splashed with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with grated cheese. You get 2.25 pounds for $9.99.

My wife says Costco no longer sells Kirkland Signature Whole Grain Bread so she brought home organic loaves, Dave's Killer Bread with 21 whole grains and seeds (two 27-ounce loaves were $7.39; one loaf at the Paramus Target was $5.89). I love this bread toasted, spread with a little pesto or used in a sandwich of reduced-fat Swiss cheese, wild smoked salmon and Campari tomato slices, all available at Costco, below.

I used three spreads on the sandwich: Dijon mustard, red-pepper paste and pesto.

Kirkland Signature Organic Unsweetened Almond Non-Dairy Beverage (Vanilla) may be the substitute for 1% lactose-free milk when having coffee or cereal. Six quarts of the almond milk were $7.99.

I was tempted by these prepared mussels from Canada's Prince Edward Island, but the garlic butter was a turnoff. 

CORRECTION: Here are two organic eggs from Costco with smoked wild salmon and organic quinoa. The photo I posted originally showed two duck eggs from Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff. Two dozen Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs are $5.99 at Costco.