Most people assume Costco just sort of stays the same forever. Giant warehouse, cheap hot dogs, bulk toilet paper — rinse and repeat. That’s the common thinking, and honestly, it held up for a long time. But 2025 and 2026 have brought a pile of changes that affect nearly every part of the Costco experience, from what’s on the food court menu to how you walk through the front door. Some of these changes are welcome. Others are going to annoy people. Here’s what’s actually happening.
The combo pizza is back, but not where you’d expect it
If you spent any time in Costco food courts before 2020, you probably remember the combo pizza. It had Italian sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, mushrooms — the works. When Costco pulled it from the menu, people genuinely grieved. Reddit threads. Petition-level energy. The thing had a following.
Well, Costco brought it back. Sort of. The combo pizza is now available as a take-and-bake option in the deli section, not the food court. You grab it off the shelf, take it home, and bake it yourself. The company says this approach solves the operational headaches that killed the food court version in the first place. The crust has been reformulated to crisp up better in home ovens, and the cheese blend got an upgrade too.
Early feedback from test markets has been surprisingly positive. Some members actually say the home-baked version tastes fresher than the original food court pizza did. Whether that’s nostalgia playing tricks or a genuine improvement, it’s hard to say. But the fact that it exists again at all — that’s the part people care about.
Books are going seasonal
Here’s one that caught a lot of members off guard. Costco stopped selling books year-round in its warehouse locations starting in January 2025. That whole aisle of bestsellers and glossy coffee table books you’d flip through while your partner loaded up on paper towels? Gone for most of the year now.
The books aren’t completely dead. Costco will still stock an expanded selection from September through December — basically the holiday gift-buying window. The rest of the year, that floor space goes to other products. If you relied on Costco for cheap books during spring or summer, you’ll need to plan differently or order through Costco.com instead.
This isn’t just a shopper inconvenience, either. Publishers who counted on Costco for year-round exposure are scrambling to adjust. For smaller authors who got a big sales bump from those Costco endcap displays, losing eight months of visibility is no small thing. The holiday season becomes even more critical for them now.
Twenty-nine new warehouses are opening worldwide
On the flip side of cutting book inventory, Costco is spending aggressively on physical expansion. The company plans to open 29 new warehouses globally in 2025 — 26 brand-new locations plus three relocations. Six stores alone are scheduled to open in March 2025, with spots ranging from Brentwood, California to Sharon, Massachusetts.
International markets are a big part of this push. New stores are planned for Japan, Mexico, and Canada. Each new warehouse brings around 250 jobs to the surrounding area, and Costco’s reputation for decent wages and benefits means those positions tend to fill fast. The expansion is partly driven by overcrowding at existing locations — some warehouses have gotten so packed during peak hours that the shopping experience suffers. More stores, at least in theory, should spread that traffic out. Whether it actually works remains to be seen, but the scale of the rollout is hard to ignore.
New scanners at the entrance change how you get in
You’ve probably noticed this already if you’ve visited a Costco recently. The company has installed new membership card scanners at warehouse entrances, replacing the old system where an employee just glanced at your card and waved you through. Now you scan, it verifies, and you’re in.
The official reasoning is twofold. First, it speeds up entry — no more awkward pauses while someone squints at your photo. Second, it helps prevent non-members from sneaking in, which apparently was more common than Costco liked. The scanners also feed real-time traffic data back to store management, helping them predict busy periods and adjust staffing.
Privacy questions came up almost immediately, which is fair. Costco says the scan data is only used for operational purposes and isn’t tied to your purchase history or personal details beyond basic membership verification. Whether you trust that is up to you. But the scanners are rolling out everywhere, so it’s the new normal regardless.
The food court is losing the churro and gaining standing tables
The Costco food court has always been one of those things people feel weirdly passionate about. So naturally, any changes there spark strong reactions. In 2025, the biggest casualties are the churro — which is being removed from the menu — and traditional seating, which some locations are replacing with standing tables.
The standing table thing is designed to improve traffic flow during peak hours. If people eat faster when they’re standing (and they do), that means more turnover and less congestion around the food court. It’s practical. It’s also a little depressing if you’re the type who liked to sit down with a slice and take a breather. Replacing the churro is a Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie, which by early accounts is pretty good. But it’s not a churro, and some people are not going to let that go easily.
Food court access rules have also tightened. Costco is enforcing member-only policies more strictly now, especially during busy periods. The days of wandering in off the street for a $1.50 hot dog combo may be numbered in many locations.
Custom cakes and deli platters are finally going online
This one might sound minor, but anyone who’s ever ordered a custom cake from Costco knows the pain. You had to physically go to the store, fill out a paper form by hand at the bakery counter, and then come back again later to pick it up. Phone orders? Not an option. It was a two-trip minimum situation, which — in 2025 — felt almost deliberately old-fashioned.
Costco CEO Ron Vachris announced during a late-2025 earnings call that online ordering for custom cakes and deli platters would be coming to the Costco app sometime in 2026. He acknowledged that members had complained about the “clunky” process, which is a polite way of putting it. The platters include party-sized servings of sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, and similar catering-style options.
Exact timing is still unclear. Some Reddit users have spotted what looks like a cake ordering function in the app already, though it’s not widely available yet. Moving this process online should also cut down on the handwriting-based errors that sometimes resulted in misspelled birthday messages or wrong cake flavors. Small victories.
Membership fees went up, but so did some rewards
Nobody loves a price increase, but Costco’s membership fee bump was relatively modest. The Gold Star membership went from $60 to $65, and the Executive membership rose from $120 to $130. It’s the first increase since 2024, and the company paired it with some expanded benefits to soften the blow.
Executive members now get a higher maximum annual 2% reward — $1,250, up from $1,000. If you spend enough at Costco throughout the year, that extra ceiling room can more than offset the fee increase. There are also enhanced travel benefits and early access to certain online sales, though Costco has been vague on the specifics of those perks so far. Membership growth hasn’t slowed despite the increase, which suggests most people still see the math working in their favor.
Meanwhile, and this is the part that doesn’t get enough attention, Costco actually lowered prices on several popular items at the same time. Kirkland Signature chicken tenderloins, baguettes, and aluminum foil all got price cuts. At a time when most retailers are doing the opposite — shrinking packages or quietly raising prices — Costco going the other direction on staple items is noteworthy. It’s a good look, and it gives members something concrete to point to when justifying that annual fee.
Fresh sushi is expanding to more stores
This one tends to surprise people who haven’t been to a Costco with a sushi counter. Yes, Costco sells fresh sushi. And no, it’s not bad. The warehouse chain has been expanding its in-store sushi program to more locations, offering everything from California rolls to specialty rolls, all prepared daily by trained sushi chefs on-site.
The pricing stays consistent with what you’d expect from Costco — well below restaurant prices for comparable quality. The fish sourcing reportedly meets high standards for sustainability, which is a legitimate concern when you’re buying raw fish at a bulk retailer. Customer response has been strong enough that Costco is reportedly considering adding more varieties and seasonal special rolls at select locations.
If your local warehouse doesn’t have the sushi counter yet, keep an eye out. The expansion is ongoing, and with 29 new stores opening, the odds are improving.
Taken together, these changes paint a picture of a company that’s willing to mess with its own formula — sometimes in ways that make total sense, sometimes in ways that will frustrate loyal members. The combo pizza return and the online cake ordering feel long overdue. Losing the churro and year-round books? Those sting. But here’s the thing that might matter most in the long run: Costco is one of the few major retailers actively lowering prices on everyday items right now. Whether the rest of these changes land well or not, that part is hard to argue with.
