Costco’s Vancouver location will soon restrict food court access to members only
It’s a long-standing tradition for Vancouverites to head over to Costco before a Canucks game at Rogers Arena for a quick $1.50 hot dog and drink. Unfortunately, it appears that those days are coming to an end for those who don’t have a Costco membership.
Signs inside the food court at Costco’s downtown Vancouver location indicate that, effective Aug. 5, 2025, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from the food court.
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That means everything on Costco’s food court menu will be unavailable for purchase, including pizza, poutine, ice cream, and the newly added California Roll (with this downtown Vancouver location being the only one in Canada to serve sushi).
However, speculation that this would happen has been ongoing since 2024, when Costco in the U.S. began tightening its food court policies in a similar way.
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Now, the big question is: Is it worth getting a Costco membership just for the occasional lunch visit? Probably not.
In September 2024, the price of a Costco membership rose for the first time since 2017, with the Gold Star membership increasing from $60 to $65 per year, and the higher-tier Executive membership jumping from $120 to $130 annually. With a Gold Star membership, you would have to eat over 43 hot dogs just to spend $65 on Costco hot dogs (and over 86 if you splurge for the Executive membership).
However, if you plan to take advantage of the other perks of being a Costco member, like purchasing household items, groceries, and gas, a membership could save you some money.
Dished reached out to Costco for more information on this change.
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