How This Pennsylvania Costco Location Caters To Amish Customers

Costco is known for mixing it up location-to-location when it comes to product offerings, like how some stores carry limited-time bakery treats (such as its tropical-inspired guava sweet rolls), while others do not. The warehouse chain doesn't shy away from catering to specific niche markets, and that is nowhere more apparent than in its Lancaster, Pennsylvania, store. Lancaster is famous for its Pennsylvania Dutch, or Amish, culture; up to 37,000 residents in the county are Amish. These people, who are descendants of the original German émigres starting in the 1600s, form a strict Christian sect, some of whom eschew automobiles in favor of traditional horses and buggies. And so the Lancaster Costco, adaptive as ever, has special parking in its lot to accommodate this mode of travel.

Yes, off to one side, there is a purpose-built, open-front shed just for the horse-drawn Amish, which provides water for the animals, as well as some much-needed shade on hot, sunny days. And in case anyone gets confused as to what the barn is for, a sign affixed to the front clearly states, "Horse and Buggy Parking Only."

The Amish shopping at Costco might seem incongruous, but they make practical purchases that align with their values. So while you might not see them buying a flat-screen TV or a $1.50 hot dog and soda combo from Costco, they may stock up on toilet paper or canned goods.

Costco actually has a reputation for catering to niche cultural or ethnic markets in the U.S. (in addition to its famous country-specific offerings in Asian nations, like Korea or Japan). For example, the Asian population in America has been pleasantly surprised by specialty items that speak to their culture, like kimchi, ramen bowls, dumplings, and even durian, in Costco locations where you might expect to see it, like Los Angeles, as well as where you might not, like Cleveland, which has a surprisingly robust (and growing) Asian population. You might expect to see more items aimed at people of this ethnicity around the country in general, too, since they represent the fastest-growing ethnic group in America, and they tend to buy in bulk more often.

Shoppers living near the border of Mexico, where there is an enormous Hispanic population, also report seeing oaxaca cheese, locally made salsas, and hatch green chiles, while in the northeastern part of the country, particularly New York state, customers report seeing a full halal section in the freezer department, including goat meat. Similarly, you can find kosher food sold at Costco, and if you live in an area with a large Jewish population, like Southern California, you'll find holiday-appropriate goods carried seasonally.