Fans of Costco’s legendary food court are mourning the loss of one of the most popular—and reasonably priced—items from the menu. The $1.25 fries were part of Costco’s loss leader items, such as the $5 rotisserie chicken and the $1.50 hot dog/soda combo, but now they’ve been discontinued, and fans are making their feelings known online.
The fries were available at five locations on the East Coast, according to customers on Reddit: Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania, Sterling, Virginia, Springfield, Virginia, Newington, Virginia, and Bridgewater, New Jersey.
“My local Costco used to sell the best fries I’ve ever had and stopped… I live in the NE USA and my local Costco had amazing French fries,” one Redditor posted. “I would go in and get 2-4 orders of fries whenever I went. To this day I’ve still never had fries that were better or even as good and it was only $1.25 for A LOT of fries. They stopped during the pandemic and have never come back. I miss them.” When someone asked why they hadn’t seen any fries available at their own Costco, the poster said, “You missed out then. But maybe it’s a good thing because you don’t have to deal with the heartbreak of never having them again 😂😂.”
One Redditor said the fries were removed from Costco food courts due to the chain prioritizing pizza. “A number of locations had them until a few years ago. I wholeheartedly agree they were some good fries. IIRC, another redditor who works at Costco said they got rid of them because the friers were interfering with the pizza ovens. Or something like that.”
“My assumption why Costco won’t put fryers into USA locations is a mix between the maintenance to keep the fryers clean, the cost of the oil, cost of installing exhaust hoods, risk of burning employees, separate disposal of used oil, and the time it takes to cook,” said another. “Food court is by far the most mysterious department at Costco,” one baffled commenter added.
Some Costco shoppers noticed the chain started phasing out the french fries at least 12 months ago. “I have been a member since 2008. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they stopped serving fries at the food court,” one Redditor said. “Although the food court resumed operations afterward, the fries were not available on the menu. Based on some of the comments, it seems that not all Costco locations offer fries as an option on their menu. However, my local Costco does have the necessary equipment to cook French fries. I apologize to those who missed out on this delicious treat, as it was a unique addition to the traditional Costco hot dogs, sausage dogs, pizza, and even ice cream from time to time.” And if you enjoyed this article, don’t miss these 4 Major Changes You’ll See at Costco In 2025
Ferozan Mast
Ferozan Mast is a science, health and wellness writer with a passion for making science and research-backed information accessible to a general audience. Read more about Ferozan
