Costco Fun Facts: Food Court
In 2022, Costco Food Court sales reached $1.4 BILLION. That’s a lot of hot dogs! 🌭 More…
That’s an average of $36K per location per week, or a little over $5000 per day. In fact, they sold over 135 million hot dog combos in 2017 alone.
When the current (now outgoing) Costco CEO, Craig Jelinik, approached Costco co-founder, Jim Sinegal, about raising the hot dog combo price as they were losing money on it, Sinegal’s response was, “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.”
And figure it out, they did. As a matter of fact, they built their own hot dog factory in order to reduce costs and keep it profitable even at $1.50.
The cost of the hot dog & soda combo hasn’t changed since 1984.
Adjusted for inflation the Costco hot dog combo would cost $4.91 in 2023.
Costco saved over $2 million a year when they switched to a concentrated pizza sauce – all from reduced shipping costs.
Costco uses 1.6 million pounds of ketchup per year in the food court.
The food court is a popular date spot. One couple from San Diego went on their first date there and got married there three years later.
Costco’s food court is one of the largest pizza chains in the US, with more than 700 locations.
Every Costco pizza is covered with 1.5 pounds of cheese – cheese pizzas feature a blend of low-fat mozzarella, provolone, and freshly grated Parmesan.
While every food court sells hot dogs, pizza and soda, their other menu items change locally and internationally. Check out what Costco’s in other countries have sold in their food courts:
- Australia: Butter Chicken Pie, Clam Chowder, Korean Chicken Ribs, Bahn mi, Poke Bowls, Donut Balls, Chicken Wings, Mango Smoothies
- Canada: Poutine, Chicken Strips & Fries, Chicken Wings
- Korea: Bulgogi Beef Pizza, Bulgogi Bake, Mushroom Soup, Sweet Pumpkin Soup, Chashu & Fried Rice
- Japan: Corn Chowder, Falafel Salad, Aussie Beef Pie, Pulled Pork Burger, Garden Burger
- Mexico: Mango Smoothies, Jalpeño Peppers for hot dog toppings
- Paris: Fish & Chips (really?)
- Spain: Cobb Salads, Croquetas, Barbacoa Chicken Wings, Pizza, Chicken Fingers and Fries
- Taiwan: Clam Chowder, Hawaiian Pizza, Crispy Spicy Chicken
- UK: Jacket Potatoes, Cottage Pie, Korean BBQ Beef Bake
These fun facts are inspired by the new book “The Joy of Costco – A Treasure Hunt from A to Z” by David & Susan Schwartz. This is such an awesome book and obviously a lot of time, care, and research went into making it.
Pick a few up on Amazon (or you may also find it at your local Costco) and give them as Holiday gifts to the Costco lovers in your life.
