People who shop at Costco on a regular basis tend to fall into a specific routine.
If you’re someone who visits Costco every week, you probably have your go-to shopping list you stick to, and you probably know which aisles to hit first and which ones to hit last.
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You’re probably also used to the crowds during your preferred shopping time. And you may even time your Costco visits to when samples are likely to be most abundant.
Related: Costco adds new food item members already love
After all, if you’re going to haul over to Costco, wait patiently (or impatiently) for a spot to open up in the parking lot, and then push a heavy shopping cart around a gigantic store, you deserve to be rewarded with some tasty bites of food along the way.
As a regular, you may even go so far as to have your preferred checkout lane. And you may or may not be on a first-name basis with the person who checks your receipt and draws your smiley face on the way out the door.
Costco finishes rolling out massive menu change
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Costco’s food court is a major draw
If you’re like many Costco members, part of your warehouse club shopping routine may involve a trip to the famous food court.
Costco’s food court may not exactly be filled with nutritious menu options. But it certainly offers its share of tasty bites at extremely reasonable prices.
Related: Costco quietly pulls popular product, upsets fans
Take the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.
It’s a known fact that Costco loses money on that deal, but it’s willing to take the hit if it gets more customers in the door.
Costco’s food court is also famous for its $9.95 pizza. And if you’re ever in the mood for true comfort food, the chicken bake is worth a try.
Costco makes major food court menu change
If you tend to make a pit stop at Costco’s food court, there may be certain items you order on a regular basis. And losing a beloved food court item can be upsetting.
Many people who loved the food court churro are still upset to this day that it was replaced by a giant chocolate chip cookie.
And recently, Costco swapped its strawberry banana smoothie for a frozen strawberry lemonade instead. A lot of people weren’t happy about that change and complained that the new smoothie wasn’t up to par.
Related: Costco brings back huge perk members have missed
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Costco announced that it would be replacing its Pepsi products with Coca-Cola products at its food courts instead.
The company gave members a heads-up that Coke products would return to the food court by summer. So chances are, if you stop in for a meal in the coming weeks, you’re going to see an all-new beverage lineup.
Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on your preferences, of course. Some Costco fans were quite upset to learn that Pepsi products would be making an exit.
However, if you’re a Coke fan, this is excellent news. In addition to regular Coke, Costco food courts will feature Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite, and more.
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Of course, some people just don’t like change. And it’s understandable that any disruption to your typical Costco shopping experience might feel uncomfortable at first.
But if there’s one thing Costco tends to do often, it’s mix things up, whether by swapping out inventory or messing with the food court menu. So if you’re a regular, you might as well get used to it.
Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.