5 Major Changes at Costco's Food Court In 2024
After a long shopping trip at Costco, one surefire way to restore your energy is by visiting the food court. There, you can sink your teeth into cheap, savory options like pizza and hot dogs, satisfy your sweet tooth with ice cream, or get a jolt of much-needed caffeine by ordering the Cold Brew Latte Freeze.
The beloved food court is filled with tried-and-true favorites that have been on the menu for years, though the warehouse club shakes things up from time to time by adding (or removing) items from its food selection. However, the menu isn't the only area where Costco has made adjustments.
Stores have also implemented changes related to how customers order and dine, with the rollout of certain policies seeming to vary across clubs. But customers can take comfort in knowing that one popular food court perk doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon: the longstanding price of the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. In March, former CFO Richard Galanti said this offering is "probably safe for a while."
The next time you visit Costco, the food court might look a little different. From new menu items to ordering process tweaks, here are five notable changes that have hit Costco stores this year.
Shifting ice cream options
During the summer of 2023, strawberry ice cream landed on food court menus, joining the vanilla option. However, this past March, the warehouse club nixed the popular strawberry item and replaced it with another classic flavor: chocolate. Costco previously sold chocolate frozen yogurt but discontinued it in 2018.
Members can pick up a cup of the chocolate ice cream for $1.99 or opt for a sundae topped with chocolate or strawberry sauce for an extra 50 cents.
New sandwiches
In February, Costco introduced a new turkey Swiss sandwich, which costs $6.99. This menu item features oven roasted turkey breast, Swiss cheese, sun-dried tomato spread, and a mayo-mustard sauce. After news about this sandwich hit social media, shoppers were quick to critique the item, particularly because of its high calorie count, with the sandwich clocking in at 900 calories. Meanwhile, others expressed their desire for the sandwich to be toasted.
In an Eat This, Not That! taste test, the sandwich was described as a "total bore," though our taste tester noted the item's potential, writing, "A quick warm-up of that roll would improve the experience immensely, making it nice and toasty and silencing many critics in the process."
Then, in August, Costco released its second new sandwich of the year: chicken and bacon. Also priced at $6.99, this sandwich is made with sliced oven roasted chicken breast, cheddar cheese, bacon jam, and a mayo-mustard sauce.
As with the turkey Swiss sandwich, this food court item sparked plenty of commentary, with some drawing attention to the fact that the item contains 920 calories and others yearning for the sandwich to be toasted. Despite the gripes, an Eat This, Not That! taste tester gave the new food court addition an overall positive review, calling it "better than the cranks would have you believe."
Membership crackdowns
This year, Costco made headlines after a Reddit user shared a photo of a sign posted at an Orlando, Fla., warehouse club. It read: "Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today. Please see our membership counter for details."
While The Takeout reported that the food courts have always been intended for members, this rule hasn't always been enforced, as evidenced by the sign posting. In March, Costco's former CFO Richard Galanti confirmed to Axios that warehouse clubs with outdoor food courts will require membership cards to order from the food court. He noted that this wouldn't be a change for locations that only have indoor food courts, since membership cards are checked at the door.
"One of the challenges is that some of the food courts have gotten so busy, particularly if it's near some office buildings or construction sites," Galanti said. "We were getting member complaints."
New ordering processes
In addition to new menu items and membership crackdowns, Costco has implemented a change in the food court's ordering process, according to one Reddit user. In March, the Costco shopper shared that their warehouse club, located in a western Chicago suburb, now requires members to order from the digital self-service kiosk and show the food court worker their receipt before their food gets prepared. Prior to this change, customers who used the kiosks would receive an order number, and a kitchen printer would notify workers about the orders, so they could start preparing the food and then announce the numbers when ready.
While some shoppers shared that they hadn't seen this change at their Costco locations, multiple Reddit users noted that this system has already been in place at their warehouse clubs. Therefore, the ordering systems appear to vary across clubs.
Additionally, Costco shoppers have reported a similar change in the pizza ordering process. In October, one Reddit user writing that there is now a separate line dedicated to shoppers who place whole pizza pickup orders on the digital kiosks. In the past, members would order their pizza through the digital kiosk and wait for workers to announce their order number. While it's unclear how many locations have switched to this process, one Reddit user claimed their San Francisco warehouse "almost never had number calling."
New standing tables
Shopping at Costco can be tiring, so the food court's seated tables are an attractive feature for those enjoying their hot dogs, ice cream, and other bites. However, finding a seat could become more difficult for some shoppers.
In mid-November, one Costco member shared on Reddit that their Visalia, Calif., warehouse replaced its standard food court tables with new standing tables. The Redditor noted that their store had five standing tables and "about a dozen of the regular tables," adding that Costco removed some of its seated tables to make room for these.
It's important to note that while this change appears to be new at some locations, such as Bayonne, N.J., it's not new for everyone. Multiple Redditors have reportedly had the standing tables at their warehouse clubs with one writing that their location has had them for a "few years." Last year, one shopper shared that their warehouse club in South Korea replaced its seated tables with standing ones, while Reddit users in Montana and Osaka, Japan, claimed to see these at the food court in addition to the seated tables.
Some Redditors have expressed their dislike of the standing tables, while others said the option could prevent people from spending too much time at the food court.
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