A New York City restaurant recently went viral after being called out for charging $40 for a half chicken entree. The comparison that lit the internet on fire: Costco sells a whole rotisserie chicken for $5. That’s 16 times the price for half the product.
Before diving into the outrage, it’s worth being fair about the context.
This is a wine-forward French restaurant in Brooklyn. It is not a fast casual chain. The overhead of running a full-service restaurant in New York City, including rent, labor, and ingredients at restaurant-grade quality, is genuinely significant. A $40 chicken entree at that kind of establishment is not inherently absurd within the world of upscale dining.
But context doesn’t win on social media. Comparison does.
And the Costco comparison is brutal precisely because of what Costco’s $5 chicken represents.
Costco has held that price for 15 years. Not as a coincidence. As a deliberate strategy. The rotisserie chicken is a loss leader, a product Costco reportedly sells below cost, designed to drive foot traffic into the store so customers buy everything else. It is one of the most intentional pricing decisions in modern retail, and it has become a cultural symbol of value in an era of rising costs.
So when you place a $40 half chicken next to a $5 whole chicken, you’re not just comparing restaurants to grocery stores. You’re placing one brand directly against one of the most powerful affordability symbols in American consumer culture.
The term “greedflation” has entered the conversation for a reason. Consumers are acutely sensitive to pricing that feels opportunistic, especially in a political climate where the cost of living is a defining issue. Whether or not the $40 chicken is actually greedflation is almost beside the point. It feels like it. And in the age of viral callouts, feeling is enough.
The lesson for any business operating in this environment:
Pricing is not just math. It’s messaging.
And in today’s world, your price is a public statement whether you intend it to be or not.
#food #business #costco #marketing #economy #nyc #restaurant #greedflation #inflation #consumer #pricing #retail #strategy #entrepreneur #businessstrategy #caseStudy #brandbuilding #trending #viral #shorts #reels #businessmindset #success #hustle #affordability #brand #socialmedia #attention #culture #finance #businessgrowth
1 Comment
Good for whatever café charges $40😂
Bet there's plenty Muppets pay it aswel.