COSTCO has been making some changes at its food courts recently, and members nationwide are seeing the effects.
These sections at the warehouse retail giant are almost unanimously beloved by members.
Costco has about 910 warehouses and food courts globally (stock image)[/caption]
The food court is one of the most popular membership perks (stock image)[/caption]
They offer popular food and drink favorites like the $1.50 hot dog, pizza, and soft-serve ice cream.
Some Costco warehouses in fair weather states like California and Florida even have their food courts outside rather than inside.
Except, every so often, certain aspects of the food court are adjusted by the retailer to better serve members.
At least three have been taking place almost overnight recently, even if they were announced earlier in the year.
COKE’S RETURN
For example, all of Costco’s over 600 warehouses nationwide have now changed fountain soda options from Pepsi to Coca-Cola as of September.
The swap out was detailed in January by Costco CEO Ron Vachris.
“This summer we will be converting our food court fountain business back over to Coca-Cola,” Vachris said in a statement.
Costco even recently dropped an image of what the new pairing would look like of a fountain Coke and the signature $1.50 hot dog.
It wouldn’t be the first time Costco changed out its go-to soda brand in the food court either, as it initially brought in Pepsi to replace Coca-Cola in 2013 after failing to negotiate lower costs.
Either way, the move back to Coca-Cola has sparked mixed feelings among members.
“Coke > Pepsi so this is actually bringing me all the joy,” someone wrote of the change online.
Someone else called it “disappointing.”
SANDWICH COMEBACK
Costco customers were, however, satisfied with a second major food court change — the return of the hot turkey and provolone sandwich.
While it vanished from menus amid the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it’s back this year with a couple of slight adjustments, per NJ.com.
Costco classic food court items
- Hot Dog with Soda – $1.50
- Pepperoni or Cheese Pizza slice – $1.99
- Rotisserie Chicken Caesar Salad – $6.99
- Turkey and Swiss Sandwich – $6.99
- Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie – $2.49
The original oven-roasted turkey, provolone cheese, red onions, and tomatoes are there, but the basil pesto sauce has been replaced with basil garlic mayo instead.
Pricing is also three dollars higher than before at $6.99, although not completely unexpected given inflationary pressures since 2020.
“Oh wow! Santa got my letters!” a Costco customer exclaimed of the sandwich’s return in a Reddit thread.
“It’s really tasty, probably the tastiest of all the non-dessert food court items (in my opinion),” wrote another.
FROZEN LEMONADE
Lastly, Costco introduced a new frosty drink for the summertime that’s still been spotted at food courts this month.
It’s the frozen strawberry lemonade, made with real fruit and priced at just $2.99, per People.
Several snapshots of the frozen strawberry lemonade were taken by Costco members and posted online.
“Had one today! Very tasty, we were surprised by how many strawberries it had,” a shopper wrote in a thread on Reddit.
Others weren’t as thrilled.
“Downward spiral of cheaper ingredients. It was a berry smoothie, then strawberry banana smoothie, now strawberry lemonade,” someone fumed.
“Definitely not worth the $3.”
Costco has also dropped at least seven must-have items for the holiday season this month, and they’re going fast.
Some members have been begging for the warehouse retailer to roll out the “greatest-ever” pharmacy service as well.
