Do You Need a Costco Membership to Eat at the Food Court? Here's What We Know (2024)
Costco's food court is undoubtedly one of the most famous and beloved offerings of all time at the warehouse club mega-chain. Odes to the ever-affordable $1.99 pizza slices are plentiful in the online Costco community, and shoppers gobbled up nearly 200 million hot dog and soda combos in 2023 alone. So it's not at all surprising that when one Costco location recently made a significant food court policy change, it became major news among the retailer's hordes of fans.
In early March, a member took to Reddit to share a photo of a sign they'd spotted at their local Costco in Orlando, Fla. 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."
The change received plenty of media coverage and garnered a wide range of reactions from consumers, with some applauding the move and others criticizing it. However, the decision also sparked plenty of confusion about Costco's food court policy for non-members. Some Costco members have said that their local warehouses still don't check membership cards despite the new requirement at the Orlando location. Others claim that the warehouses they frequent have always checked memberships at the food court for as long as they've shopped there.
So what, exactly, are Costco's rules regarding whether non-members are permitted at food courts? We recently did some digging to find answers to those questions. Here's everything we know:
Though Costco lists many of its member policies online, Eat This, Not That! could not locate a definitive rule on the retailer's website regarding who is allowed to eat at its food courts. Costco also did not respond to our requests for clarification on its food court policy by publication time.
Luckily, we had more success in extracting information from specific Costco locations. Eat This, Not That! contacted three Costco warehouses in different parts of the United States to ask them directly about their non-member food court policies.Employees at two of those stores—located in Edison, N.J., and the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect—confirmed to us that non-members are allowed to dine at their food courts.
I've visited the Edison location myself several times in the past year and can personally verify that I've never been required to scan my membership card at the food court ordering kiosk. However, the third Costco we contacted in Sacramento, Calif., said that they only serve card-carrying Costco members.
Why the difference in policy between the three? One of the workers we spoke to said that only outdoor food courts are currently moving to restrict non-members. That checks out considering that the Sacramento food court banning non-members is outdoors, while the Edison and Chicago locations have indoor food courts. Former Costco CFO Richard Galanti, who recently left his post, also told Axios in an early March interview that clubs with outside food courts would start requiring membership cards to make purchases come April 8.
Galanti said the change was because the outdoor food courts—which are more easily accessible to non-members—tended to draw overly large crowds.
"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 told Axios. "We were getting member complaints."
That's not necessarily to say that it's only the outdoor Costco food courts that don't permit non-members. If the recent policy change at the Orlando Costco and all the subsequent confusion have shown us anything, it's that the company's rules on non-members at food courts can vary drastically by location. It's entirely possible that some indoor food courts also bar non-members from making purchases, so any non-member craving some food court fare should absolutely check with their local Costco to confirm they'll be allowed to dine there before heading over.
However, the fact that outdoor locations specifically are being targeted in this recent crackdown indicates that non-members may have a better chance scoring a bite at indoor food courts moving forward. That's assuming, of course, that those same shoppers are able to get past the front door. Costco has been stepping up its membership checks at warehouse entrances as well—even deploying a new card scannerin one location.
You'll need a Costco membership if you want to use the food court. It used to be that anyone could go to the Costco food court. Even if you weren't a member, you could buy a slice of pizza for $2 and a hot dog and soda combo for only $1.50. Sadly, this is no longer true for non-members.
"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," the sign read, as reported in Food & Wine last week.
However, you must be a paid member to enter the warehouse and purchase any other items. To pick up a membership application, please stop by the membership counter at any Costco warehouse or sign up online. We take great pride in the quality and savings we offer our members.
While you need a Costco membership to shop in stores, non-members can place orders on Costco.com. Without a membership, you'll face a 5% surcharge on the items you're buying.
Costco recently started asking for shoppers' membership cards along with a photo ID at the self-checkout registers, the same policy as regular checkout lanes, to crack down. “We don't feel it's right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” Costco said in announcing the change.
And if you don't have a membership, you're not out of luck. If you're given a Costco Shop Card, which is Costco's version of a gift card, you'll be allowed to enter the store and shop there to your heart's content. Usually, you're asked to show a membership card at the door when you approach a Costco store.
The Costco membership card is non-transferable, but there are several ways to share the experience with family and friends. Anyone with a card can bring up to two guests to the Warehouse during each visit. Keep in mind that purchasing items is exclusive to Costco members.
Members are welcome to bring children and up to two guests into the warehouse; members are responsible for their children and guests. Children should not be left unattended. Only Costco members may purchase items.
“Our membership policy states that our membership cards are not transferable and since expanding our self-service checkout, we've noticed that non-member shoppers have been using membership cards that do not belong to them,” reads a statement released by Costco.
There's no real free trial for a Costco membership. They don't typically offer guest passes or other temporary options for testing the proverbial waters. Instead, Costco offers a fairly generous return policy on their membership purchases.
Costco has more stores across the globe, is expanding rapidly, and generally offers cheaper prices than Sam's Club does, although the latter charges slightly less for membership, has a bigger presence in the U.S., and stocks more name brands.
What is the cheapest Costco membership you can get? The cheapest Costco membership is the Gold Star or Business membership. The annual fee for both membership types is $60.
Right now, when you pay $60 for an annual Costco membership on StackSocial, you'll receive a digital $40 Digital Costco Shop Card, bringing the total cost of membership down to an impressive $20.
Costco membership is non-transferrable. This means only you can use your membership card. Each membership comes with two cards, so you can add one member of your household. Otherwise, you're allowed up to two guests while you shop -- but a member must pay at checkout.
It costs $60 per year to join the warehouse club, which specializes in bulk groceries, and the membership cards that households receive upon joining have photographs on them. The cards are non-transferable, according to Costco, and are scanned at all registers at checkout.
Costco stores require a membership card to get in the door. Some stores took a laid-back approach to restricting food court access to non-members. Now, Costco is ramping up its efforts to enforce the rule that its food court is available to members only.
In June 2023, Costco had also announced its intentions to more strictly enforce its membership policy, which stipulates that only Costco members are allowed to make purchases at checkout — and not just anyone who happens to be carrying a valid membership card borrowed from a family member or friend.
Your Costco Anywhere Visa Card is now an active payment method in your Digital Membership Card and is ready to be used at Costco registers (excluding the food court).
No, Costco does not offer a free trial for new memberships. However, they do have a generous return policy, so you can cancel your membership at any time for a full refund. This gives you a risk-free way to try out Costco and see if it is right for you.
Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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