We really, really like our Costco pumpkin pie in the Tri-Cities

For thousands of people in the Tri-Cities, Thanksgiving dinner will end with a slice of spicy pumpkin pie from Costco.

The Kennewick Costco ranked as one of the top outlets among the chain’s stores in the nation for pie sales earlier this week.

Last year it ranked 10th in the nation out of 500 stores for pie sales in the three days leading up to Thanksgiving day with 14,658 pies sold, said David Richman, head of bakery buying at Costco’s corporate headquarters.

“It’s one of the busiest pie locations in the country,” he said. “You like your pies there.”

Pumpkin is the top seller, with rows of pallets, stacked at least 12 pies deep and 21 pies long crowding the Gage Boulevard store’s aisles and walk-in refrigerated area this week.

Each weighs just over 3.6 pounds — minus whipped cream.

“Pie mania,” was one shopper’s description on social media.

The Kennewick store expects to sell 40,000 pies this year.

More than half of them — 23,000 — will be sold in the 10 days leading up to Thanksgiving.

With a population nearing 300,000 in Benton and Franklin counties, that’s roughly one pie for every 13 people in the Thanksgiving season.

Starting the weekend before Thanksgiving day, pumpkin, pecan and apple pies are baked around the clock at the Kennewick Costco to meet the demand, Richman said. Some seasonal help is hired.

Pumpkin pies made with spices, canned pumpkin and eggs have been a bakery staple since 1987 for Costco, according to The Costco Connection magazine.

Little has changed since then, except the size. They’ve grown from 10 inches in diameter to 12 inches.

Part of what makes the pumpkin pies popular is the price — $5.99.

You can’t buy the ingredients to make a pumpkin pie for that, Richman said.

Costco works year round to make sure it can keep the price steady, including hedging commodities including the recipe.

It contracts with farmers in Peoria, Ill., to grow the Dickinson variety of pumpkin that works best in the Costco recipe, he said.

Costco pumpkin pies are so popular there’s even a Costco pumpkin pie Facebook page and a Twitter account for fans to share the love.

“I am on a mission to get Costco to sell slices of pumpkin pie at the food courts!” says one fan on Twitter.

If you do have Costco’s pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving menu, don’t forget to refrigerate the leftovers.

Costco recommends keeping them cool because they are made with no preservatives.

This story was originally published November 21, 2018 at 10:42 AM.