Costco has answered years of customer demand to restore one of its most iconic food court items, but the warehouse retailer’s solution has left legions of loyal shoppers feeling shortchanged.
The Washington-based big-box chain has introduced a Caramel Churro Sundae to its food court menu, priced at $2.99.
The new item does not feature the full-size churro that customers have been requesting.
The sundae offers customers a choice of vanilla, chocolate, or swirl soft-serve ice cream. The dessert is drizzled with salted caramel sauce and topped with crunchy mini churro bites.
Costco’s original churros were a food court institution spanning decades.
The fried dough pastries, traditionally rolled in cinnamon sugar, first appeared in the chain’s food courts in the 1990s.
The original churros carried a price tag of 99 cents, according to reports.
They were later reformulated and repriced before the company discontinued the item entirely in early 2024.
Laura Jayne Lamb, who operates the Instagram account @costcohotfinds, posted a video of the new dessert this week.
She captioned the post, “The Costco food court did it again!”
Customer reactions online have been sharply divided. A comment on Lamb’s Instagram post accumulating nearly 5,000 likes captured the frustration directly: “We don’t want bits of churros. We want the whole churros back!”
On Reddit’s dedicated Costco forum, a top comment responding to a post about the new item stated plainly: “Bring back the churros!”
One Reddit user described the new offering as “such a slap in the face to give us ‘churro bites’ and no churros.”
Another commenter captured the generational impact of the decision, writing: “One of my kids is 6 and every few months he just yells, ‘Why did they get rid of the churros!?’ It was like his first great betrayal of life.”
One creative customer offered a humorous solution: “Can I get a Caramel Churro Sundae, no caramel, no sundae, original recipe.… Thank you, here’s one dollar!”
The comment highlighted the price gap many fans pointed out — the new sundae at $2.99 costs nearly double the $1.50 price of the former churro, and triple the original 99-cent version.
Calorie counts also drew criticism. One commenter wrote, “850 calories. I’m sure it’s tasty, but it’s also self harm.”
Another added, “If they didn’t show calories on the menu, I would get these all the time.”
Not all reactions were negative. “That looks fire!” wrote one Instagram commenter. Another responded, “OK, I need to try this IMMEDIATELY.”
The new churro sundae follows Costco’s Double Chocolate Mint Sundae, a mint-and-chocolate frozen dessert that recently appeared in the food court rotation.
Costco is known for cycling its sundae offerings seasonally, and it remains unclear how long the Caramel Churro Sundae will be available. Availability may also vary by location.
The rollout arrives amid a notable rivalry between Costco and Sam’s Club. In February, Sam’s Club Café launched its own limited-time Caramel Palmier Sundae, featuring vanilla frozen yogurt, caramel sauce, and crunchy cinnamon palmiers for $1.58 — less than half the price of Costco’s new churro creation.
Costco also drew scrutiny in recent years after replacing its original churros with a $2.49 double chocolate chunk cookie, a swap that sparked its own round of customer debate.
