We Have Some Really Good News for Hungry Costco Shoppers

After more than a year of pandemic restrictions, we are finally getting what is perhaps the biggest sign of a return to normalcy in society: Costco is bringing back selected items to their food courts and resuming some seating options. “The beloved food court,” announced CNN, “is coming back to life, albeit slowly.”

To help stop the spread of coronavirus last spring, Costco instituted a few changes. In addition to limiting the number of people allowed in the store per membership, they also shut down their much-beloved food courts. Last May, the company reopened the snack counters with a very limited menu — just hot dogs and a few pizzas — and without any seating. And last fall, they added their famous chicken bake back to the menu, and this year they started rolling out the company’s new, improved churros to that small selection of stores. But now the menu is starting to really beef up.

Per CNN, ice cream and smoothies are now on the menu. Outdoor seating areas can reopen at Costco, and indoor seating will resume in the near future where permitted.

The news gets even better. The company’s CFO, Richard Galanti, said that samples as we knew them are on their way back. Costco resumed some samples back in June last year — although it looked very different. According to CNN the store is now adding plexiglass stations to keep the workers safe, and they will be able to start handing out items that don’t require preparation — like packaged snack foods — to one person at a time. And after that, Galanti says, they’ll work on adding back the cooked samples customers love so much — things like noodle dishes, breakfast sandwiches, and meatballs.

What’s your favorite thing to buy at the Costco food court? Let us know in the comments!