Costco Is Quietly Removing a Food Court Favorite

Costco’s food court is a place of constant change. On the surface, it feels constant and steady, like a ship in calm waters. But underneath, it’s tempestuous, continually adjusting, and ready to abandon at a moment’s notice, like…a ship in stormy waters. Just give me a sec to glow with pride at my own analogy, before I get to the point: The bulk-buy retailer is never afraid to remove items that aren’t working, and now, it looks like the Combo Calzone is disappearing, to make room for its new chicken strips, following a mixed response to the former dish. 

Videos by Sporked

Well, given that we loved the Combo Calzone when we tried all of Costco’s food court items, safe to say we’re bummed. And given that its chicken strips aren’t exactly being raved about, we’re also questioning the logic here. But I digress. Here’s the lowdown.

Calzone Out, Chicken Strips In

As is always the case with Costco, the disappearance of its calzone and the appearance of its chicken strips (which have been in Canadian stores for a while now) wasn’t announced publicly. Instead, customers just started hearing and noticing that one had gone, and the other had appeared. 

For people who loved the $6.99 calzone, which had two types of meat, vegetables, and cheese, this was a blow. That said, the people who were fans of this menu item were almost equally matched by the people who didn’t. “I’ve had the calzone. The crust isn’t quite pizza crust. It was more cracker-like,” said an early review of this dish on Reddit when it first came out. “The inside filling at my store was mush. It’s like someone put everything into a food processor with the pizza sauce and chopped it up.” Yum. Given the stir it caused so early on, and the fact it wasn’t an unequivocal hit, it’s probably no surprise that it didn’t stick around – Costco’s pretty ruthless when it comes to these things.

A Change For The…Better?

The tricky thing, though, is that its chicken strips aren’t being received much more warmly. Some customers have complained that this new item (which also costs $6.99, giving you five large chicken strips and a tub of sauce per portion) is way too salty, and that the breading doesn’t quite cut the mustard. So far, things haven’t quite been as rosy as the store might like. 

Costco’s also not been on the best run of late with its new food court items. Last month, we reported on its new churro sundae, which customers also weren’t that into. It might have to go back to the drawing board here.