Las Vegas Costco location now serving Coke at food court, joining other stores

Whether you hold a Costco (COST) membership or not, it’s likely you’re aware of the warehouse chain’s food court.

Despite having a fairly simple menu, Costco’s food court has legendary status. It’s been around since 1984 and — fun fact — used to be outside the store.

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All Costco had on the menu in those days was the famously affordable hot dog and soda combo, which cost $1.50, just like it does today.

People loved that concept, and it earned the nickname “Cafe 150” because of it. Today, most Costco food courts are inside the warehouses, but one thing has stayed the same: the price of that hot dog combo.

One thing about the classic combo did change, however. In 2013, Costco announced that it would change its cola option from Coke to Pepsi.

This caused an uproar, as it tinkered with a war that’s been going on as long as the two soda brands have been in competition.

Some people are staunch Coke fans, while others swear by Pepsi — and this fight can be as passionate as folks arguing about their favorite sports teams.

Now Costco is making a huge change at its food courts it announced earlier this year, and you just might notice it at your local warehouse the next time you make a shopping trip.

Your beverage options will change at Costco food courts.

Image source: Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Costco’s big rollout is underway

On January 23 during the annual Costco shareholder meeting, Costco CEO Ron Vachris announced that Costco was making a major change, switching back to Coke at its food courts.

At the time, Vachris said the change would happen this summer. According to Alan Bubitz, Costco’s VP of food services, the shift was made to “preserve the integrity of the price point” of the famous hot dog and soda combo.

Costco said the rollout of the change would happen in July. Costco has 630 stores to update in the U.S.

And according to a new thread on Reddit with accounts from both employees and Costco members, the change is actively happening now.

A few of the stores confirmed to have made the change include Nashville, Tennessee; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Pleasanton, California; Burnsville, Minnesota; Springfield, Virginia; Fremont, California; and Lakeville, California.

On Friday, the change could be seen at the food court at Costco’s Summerlin location in Las Vegas.

However, it’s a slow process, and not all Costco locations have made the switch yet.

“Most of LA area still Pepsi,” commented user agtiger.

“Shoreline WA & Lake Stevens WA has NOT been updated as of July 13th,” user twittterpated also chimed in.

Costco is thriving, while other retailers flounder

While some retailers have reported a pullback in customer spending this year due to economic uncertainty around tariffs, Costco isn’t having any problems getting people to keep coming in.

In its Q3 earnings call on May 29, the retailer reported net sales for the quarter increased 8% to $61.96 billion, a positive sign in the current environment.

That said, Financial Officer Gary Millerchip did say during its March 6 earnings call that Costco has observed its members becoming more cautious about their spending.

“We believe that the member is probably as much focused now on quality, value, and newness as they have been for quite some time,” said Millerchip.

“But they are still showing that willingness to spend, but they’re being very choiceful where they’re spending their dollars. And we think that’s likely to continue and maybe even become more choiceful as the impact of some return of inflation and the potential impact of tariffs could flow through as well.”

Behind the scenes, Costco has been hard at work on navigating the effect of tariffs. The company has said it will work with its vendors in order to mitigate high costs associated with tariffs and is consider alternative sourcing locations for some of its products.

Costco is also asking its Chinese suppliers to cut prices on goods, according to a report from the Financial Times in March.

In December, Millerchip did say that Costco may face higher prices as a result of tariffs.

“When it rains, it rains on everybody,” he said.