Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and soda combo is still on the menu, but access to it is getting tighter at some warehouses. Reports from late 2025 and Costco’s own membership policies show the company is expanding the technology it uses to verify who can order food at certain locations.
Food court access is changing at some Costco locations
The latest attention around the change came after shoppers spotted membership scanners at a Costco food court in Pompano Beach, Florida. Eat This, Not That reported on November 13, 2025, that the scanners were being set up so customers would need to show a membership card before ordering at self-service kiosks.
That did not amount to a new nationwide launch announced by Costco on a single date. Instead, the available reporting points to a gradual rollout that appears to vary by warehouse. The Coconut Mama’s summary of the change also said the company had not announced a firm nationwide implementation date.
What is clear is that Costco has been tightening membership enforcement in more than one part of the store. Costco’s customer service page says members must scan a physical or digital membership card at front door scanners once those systems are deployed. Costco’s member privileges page also says shoppers are required to scan a membership card at the warehouse entrance and show it again at checkout.
For food court customers, that means a quick stop for lunch may no longer be as simple as walking up to an outdoor kiosk or ordering after entering with someone else. At warehouses using the new setup, the ordering process itself can become another membership checkpoint.
What Costco has said, and what it has not said
Costco has long treated membership as the core of its warehouse model, and its official policies back that up. The company’s member privileges terms say shopping privileges are tied to a valid membership, and its customer service guidance explains that the door scanners are part of a broader verification effort.
Separate news coverage shows that food court enforcement is not entirely new. CBS News reported in 2024 that Costco had already been cracking down on food court access, noting the company had officially restricted food court use to members in 2020 while signs and stricter enforcement appeared later.
That history helps explain why some shoppers may feel this policy is new while others have seen it for a while. Enforcement appears to have varied by location, especially at warehouses with outdoor food courts or self-order kiosks. Some members have likely encountered checks for months, while others are only now seeing scanners attached directly to the ordering process.
Costco has not publicly posted a broad consumer announcement saying that every U.S. food court now requires a membership scan at the kiosk. Based on the sources available, the most accurate reading is that Costco is expanding enforcement through technology at participating warehouses, not announcing a one-day nationwide switch.
What shoppers should expect before heading to the food court
For members, the main takeaway is practical: bring a current physical or digital Costco membership card and expect to use it more often. If a warehouse has entrance scanners and food court kiosk verification, a member may need that card at multiple points during one visit.
For nonmembers, access is less predictable than it once was. Some shoppers have historically been able to buy food without much scrutiny, particularly at outdoor food courts, but that appears to be getting harder where scanners are installed. Anyone planning a food-court-only stop should check with the local warehouse before making the trip.
The menu value that draws people in has not disappeared. Costco’s customer service page from May 7, 2026 confirms the hot dog remains available in the food court. What is changing is who can reliably get to the checkout screen to order it.
So the cheap hot dog is still cheap, at least based on the reporting tied to this scanner rollout. The quieter shift is that Costco seems to be making the food court more clearly a member benefit, using kiosk technology to enforce a rule that had not been applied the same way everywhere.