When Costco opened its first Manhattan outpost last November, in a soaring East 116th Street shopping complex with river views, management did not know precisely who or what to expect: Would customers stream in from East Harlem and Washington Heights? Or would the aisles be flooded with Upper West Siders stocking up on San Pellegrino? How much demand would there be for kosher meat? Costcos nationwide sell some 57 million rolls of Charmin per month: would people living in cramped apartments go for those 30-roll packages?
Turns out there are even more Upper East Siders shopping at the Manhattan Costco than had been expected (and a lot were expected), but there are also plenty of people from Harlem, Morningside Heights, the Bronx and beyond. Kosher food is in high demand, though not as high as in Costco’s kosher capital, Lawrence, N.Y. And as for the question of where shoppers keep it all, Iliana Dimitrova, 36, an accountant, offered this clue: “If you open my kitchen cabinets, it’s all toilet paper and Bounty from Costco.”
In fact, Bounty paper towels have been the store’s most popular item: 258,000 rolls were sold by April 6, 12 at a time.
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