Costco Shafted a Fan-Favorite Food Item for a More Expensive Alternative

The beauty of Costco is that there are so many different experiences coming together under the roof of just one establishment. In the store, patrons aren't just stocking up on a grocery shopping trip, but they are also often eating some samples and buying ready-to-eat food at a kiosk... including Costco's famous churros.

Little bits of Costco become tradition and snagging a churro on the way in or out can make or break a shopping trip. However, it appears that the company has dropped the churro from its menu.

The company phased out the churros at the beginning of 2024 and allowed the stock to deplete. Instead, they began rolling out a new sweet snack for their customers to try — cookies.

This wasn't a complete surprise for diehard Costco fans. "My brother (Costco employee) just told me they were getting rid of the churros at the food court and replacing them with cookies," wrote one Redditor in late 2023. "Not sure what sort of cookies, I asked if they would be similar to the ones in the bakery but he didn't have much information. Was wondering if anyone else had heard this rumor or had seen signs of this happening already."

Costco never said why they made the switch. The company has been pretty quiet about the choice overall. With no announcement, fans have just been left to speculate and wonder.

However, it could be important to note that there's a price difference between the old churro and the new double chocolate chunk cookie. The churro cost $1.49, but the price tag for the new cookie is $2.49.

There might be another food joining the ranks in the future. An insider on Reddit was able to confirm proactively the cookie shakeup. "It is true. They have found a company to make the cookies, agreements are finalized," they wrote, giving them some credibility for the second half of the major news. "They will be showing up in early 2024, along with chocolate ice cream which will appear before summer."

Thankfully, despite the other menu changes, the Costco hot dog is set to remain at $1.50 for the foreseeable future. The hot dog is probably the most iconic food court meal at the store.

The price was set to $1.50 in 1984 and remained there since. Occasionally, rumors circulate that the company is going to change the price or, worse yet, get rid of the food altogether.

Luckily in 2022, Costco's then-CFO Richard Galanti confirmed that they were keeping the price the same according to a report from MarketWatch. While there is often concern that the hot dog could be causing the company to be losing money, Galanti didn't seem worried.

"We really don’t look at it that way," Galanti said. "Some businesses that are doing well with margin ... those things help us be more aggressive in other areas, or, as you mentioned, hold the price on the hot dog and the soda a little longer — forever."