Costco is to set to make changes about who can eat at its food courts. The retailer will start implementing new rules that will require patrons to present a membership card when purchasing food.
Costco has started ramping up its approach in recent months, ensuring that only members can take advantage of its many bargain deals, such as the $1.50 hot dog-soda combo, chicken bake, and pizza, which the company is renowned for.
Earlier this month, a Reddit user uploaded a photo, which they claimed was taken at Costco in Orlando, Florida, depicting a sign that 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 Costco’s food court has typically always been intended only for use by its members, some locations have been more lax with enforcing this policy until now.
According to Richard Galanti, who served as CFO for Costco until his recent retirement, the change will indeed apply from said date but will apply only to those locations with outside food courts, Axios reported.
“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,” Mr Galanti said, adding that it’s not a change for clubs with inside food courts since member IDs are checked at the door.
Mr Galanti went on to say that the move was “more fair and the right thing to do” for Costco members.
In Costco’s most recent earnings call, Mr. Galanti told analysts and investors that the company’s ancillary businesses were performing “in the low single digits,” with food courts, pharmacy, and optical services being the top performers in that category.
In June last year, Axios reported that Costco was cracking down on membership sharing at self-checkout locations.
“Costco is able to keep our prices as low as possible because our membership fees help offset our operational expenses, making our membership fee and structure important to us,” a spokesperson for Costco told Nexstar, the Takeout reported.
Costco states on its website that, as a general rule, “only Costco members may purchase items” at its store locations. According to last year’s figures, the company has around 130 million members worldwide, Fox News reported.
In addition, there is currently no clarity on whether Costco gift cards will be allowed as a substitute for an active membership card.
Meanwhile, Costco’s multiple ancillary businesses, including food courts and gas stations, encourage increased footfall by members to its nearly 900 warehouse locations.
NTD reached out to Costco for comment on the matter.
