SLO Costco shakes up food court menu — but you can still get these longtime favorites

Costco locations around the country have shaken up their highly popular food court menu in favor of new, healthier options.

But, fear not, the coveted $1.50 all-beef hot dog combo — a food court mainstay for nearly four decades — isn't going anywhere, and neither are some other favorites.

The Costco in San Luis Obispo at 1540 Froom Ranch Way recently removed chocolate yogurt and added an acai bowl that comes with banana chips, granola, fresh blueberries and strawberry slices.

It also added a vanilla acai swirl and temporarily dropped the very berry sundae, said Jerra Zarati, the food court manager in San Luis Obispo.

Another new vegetarian dish, the al pastor salad, comes with plant-based protein, romaine lettuce, black beans and banh mi vegetables and dressing.

Zarati said the company has also removed the polish hot dog (in favor of an organic cheeseburger), as well as the BBQ beef brisket sandwich and chili.

Popular items such as the $1.99 slice of pizza, chicken bake, hot turkey sandwich and twisted churro all remain, Zarati said.

Costco chief executive Craig Jelinek said the food court menu is a frequent topic of comments dropped in store suggestion boxes, according to The Seattle Times.

However, Jelinek didn't exactly give the new menu items a ringing endorsement.

"This new plant-based protein salad, I know that excited you," he reportedly said at a shareholder meeting. "But it is healthy. And, uh, actually, it tastes pretty good, if you like those kind of things. I tried it once."

The Seattle Times story also said Costco built its own plant in California that produces 285 million hot dogs per year. The company reportedly sold 137 million of them in 2017.

This story was originally published July 5, 2018 at 5:32 PM.