Few places in American retail carry the same sense of ritual as the Costco food court. For decades, it has been the reward at the end of a long warehouse run – a $1.50 hot dog, a slice of pizza, and a fountain drink that somehow cost less than a dollar. But in 2025 and into 2026, a wave of changes has hit that beloved corner of the warehouse, and shoppers are not staying quiet about it. From swapped soda brands to membership scanners blocking the ordering kiosk, the debates online have grown surprisingly passionate. Some members say the changes are long overdue. Others say Costco is slowly dismantling the one thing that made the food court feel special.
The Pepsi-to-Coke Switch That Divided the Warehouse
Costco rolled out the change toward the end of 2025 and finished swapping Pepsi products for Coca-Cola brands in the beginning of 2026. It was the end of a long partnership. Costco had been under an exclusive deal with Pepsi since 2013. As Costco Insider reported, “Costco originally made the switch to Pepsi in 2013 as a cost-saving measure, in order to keep the price of their famous hot dog and soda combo at $1.50.”
During Costco’s annual shareholder meeting on January 23, the club confirmed that it would be switching from PepsiCo to Coca-Cola products in its food court within the next few months. “This summer, we will be converting our food court fountain business back over to Coca-Cola,” said Costco CEO Ron Vachris during the meeting. The move brought back classics like Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and Sprite – beverages many longtime members remember fondly from before the Pepsi partnership began. Still, the reaction among the warehouse faithful was far from unanimous, proving that even a soda swap can stir real emotion.
Why Shoppers Are Taking Sides on the Soda Debate
The most polarizing battle in food and beverage may be the choice between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Both companies have made public claims to be better than the other, and each one has restaurants and other partners such as theme parks, movie theaters, and arenas under exclusive deals. When Costco made the switch, it dropped into the middle of that long-running cultural war. As Manhattan-based psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert explained, “Coke vs. Pepsi has always been a cultural dividing line, like Yankees vs. Red Sox or Apple vs. PC. People attach memories, family traditions, and even a sense of who they are to a brand. So when Costco suddenly took sides, it triggered a reaction far bigger than soda itself.”
Fans of Coke were vocal in their excitement. “Coke just tastes better with the $1.50 hot dog,” one member posted. “It feels like Costco again.” The hot dog-and-soda combo, long considered one of the best deals in retail food, remains untouched in price – an iconic part of Costco’s brand that hasn’t budged since the 1980s. Pepsi loyalists, though, were less enthusiastic. The changeover, which was announced at a Costco shareholders meeting, was wrapping up in early 2026, and shoppers shared photos on social media as their local Costcos made the swap, to decidedly mixed reviews.
Membership Scanners at the Food Court: A Policy That Crossed a Line for Some
Costco is rolling out membership-verification technology at its food courts that will require customers to show a valid membership card before ordering food – something select locations have already started testing and that could become more widespread in 2026. An eagle-eyed customer in Pompano Beach, Florida spotted the change first, noticing membership ID scanners installed in the food court at store #88. From there, the story spread across Reddit threads and social media feeds almost overnight.
As early as 2020, some Costco locations started posting signs that food courts were for members only. In 2024, Costco started officially cracking down on food court access for non-members. Costco addressed the reasoning directly, stating, “We don’t feel it’s right that nonmembers receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” as reported by Audacy.com. The installation of physical scanners, however, felt like an escalation to many shoppers who had grown used to the honor system.
The Business Logic Behind the Crackdown
Costco’s entire business model is predicated on driving and retaining members. “While comprising a smaller percentage of total revenue – around 1.93% in fiscal year 2025 – membership fees are the bedrock of Costco’s profitability, often contributing 65% to 73% of the company’s operating profit. This stable, predictable, and high-margin income stream enables Costco to operate its merchandise sales on very thin margins,” according to PredictStreet’s Deep Dive into the Membership Retail Giant. With those numbers in mind, protecting the food court from free-riders is not just a matter of fairness – it is a core financial strategy.
As former Costco CFO Richard Galanti told Axios, “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. We were getting member complaints.” By denying food court access to non-members, Costco is doing its part to make its warehouse clubs less crowded overall. Membership fees make up a substantial majority of Costco’s profits, and the slow rollout of food court gatekeeping did not appear a detriment heading into 2026. During the first quarter earnings call, CFO Gary Millerchip touted record pizza sales on Halloween, up 31% from the same day in 2024, with 358,000 whole pies served.
Menu Additions and Removals Stirring Fresh Arguments
In the fairly recent past, Costco replaced its beloved churro with a chocolate chip cookie and swapped out the popular strawberry banana smoothie for a frozen strawberry lemonade. In each case, the company encountered pushback from members accustomed to their go-to orders. The menu churn has not slowed down. As of May 2025, there is a new Combo Calzone on the menu for $6.99, stuffed with pepperoni, sausage, cheese, tomato sauce, onions, peppers, olives, and mushrooms – but at $5 more than a slice of Costco pizza, shoppers pay a premium for the extra ingredients.
Costco quietly dropped a new sundae flavor in mid-February 2026 – the Double Chocolate Mint Sundae at $2.99 – which replaced the Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae that debuted in October 2025 at the same price point, making it the second limited specialty sundae Costco rolled out in less than six months. The banana smoothie’s introduction at the onset of 2025 was itself short-lived. Not long after, it was pulled and the frozen strawberry lemonade was brought in as a replacement. However, issues with the lemonade base led to its own disappearance from the menu within weeks of its debut, and as of the end of 2025, only the frozen coffee drinks had endured the series of purges.
What Shoppers Really Fear Is Losing the Ritual
Costco may be hurting itself by making its food court off-limits to people who are not members. The food court once served as a low-friction touchpoint that introduced people to the wonder that is Costco. If new shoppers cannot get an easy peek inside the store, prospective members may be less likely to join. That concern is more than hypothetical. Costco is the largest and most popular warehouse club in the U.S., with over 600 locations and roughly 132 million members nationwide, but it still faces threats from major rivals such as Sam’s Club, BJ’s, and even Target. Its food court has consistently gone viral on social media for items such as its chicken bake, chocolate chip cookie, and $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.
The Coca-Cola switch is a reminder of how deeply attached many shoppers are to even the smallest aspects of the Costco experience. For loyal members, the food court is not just a place to grab a bite – it is part of the ritual. Costco has not commented further on whether additional menu changes are coming, but one thing is clear: even subtle updates can stir passionate responses from the warehouse faithful. The company has maintained its $1.50 price point for the hot dog and soda combo for 40 years. At a time when just about everything else is up due to inflation, that is a remarkable commitment. Whether the broader food court changes ultimately strengthen or strain that loyalty remains an open question members are actively debating across every platform available to them.
