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Forget a bigger kitchen – a growing request from homeowners is adding a tiny door to make their Costco runs easier.
The so-called “Costco door” is typically a 2-by-2-foot opening, from an attached garage to a pantry or kitchen, allowing shoppers to slide in bulky, warehouse-club hauls straight from the car instead of making multiple trips through the house.
The feature is especially useful for those with large walk-in pantries, where they can quickly unload everything from 25-pound bags of rice to cases of water, beans and laundry detergent without risking an injury.
The Costco door trend is just one quirky example of the lengths that fans will go to make the most of their memberships as the company sees booming sales.
“It’s such a simple feature, but it makes everyday life so much easier,” Sasha Kudinova, a 39-year-old Utah homeowner, told The Washington Post.
Kudinova had a “Costco door” installed in her home last year. Her husband is a travel doctor, so she often unloads groceries by herself. She said pushing items directly from the garage into the pantry saves time and is less likely to aggravate her back.
“I haven’t really found a downside,” Kudinova said.
The concept has been around for years with home-design and social media accounts showcasing small doors that let homeowners move groceries directly from the garage into the pantry.
Now, as homeowners look to bring back practical features like laundry chutes and milk doors, the humble pass-through is getting a modern revival in new builds and renovations.
Installing the feature may not be particularly expensive compared with other renovations, either. Jay Roberts, a Utah custom home builder whose company has installed the doors, told The Post that about half of his company’s customers ask for one after seeing an example.
“When you tell someone it’s roughly a thousand bucks to put one in, they’re like, ‘Yeah that’s a no-brainer – why would we not do that?’” Roberts said.
The concept wasn’t originally created as a luxury feature. Roberts said he and his brother first incorporated the small door into a home they were building about 10 to 15 years ago for a client who was paralyzed.
“It was for his wife – she had a lot on her plate,” Roberts said.
A “Costco door” may be simple, but adding one to an existing home isn’t as easy as cutting a hole in the wall.
Homeowners must consider local building codes, fire-safety requirements and the wall’s structural integrity, Andrew Rus, a builder with P&D, a custom-home company near Columbus, Ohio, told The Post.
The pass-through also creates potential concerns around pests and security by adding another connection between the garage and the house.
Costco memberships are booming with revenue rising 11 percent to $5.9 billion in 2026 as the retailer ended the year with 84.1 million paid members, Yahoo Finance reports.
Beyond bulk groceries, Kirkland Signature products and discounted gas, Costco memberships come with perks like a recent Disneyland pass package and rental car offers.
Near the end of September, Costco announced it would open 10 new stores in the next two months.
