Costco Ditches Hot Dogs to Make Room for Vegan Options

Retailer Costco recently made substantial changes to its nationwide food court menu by removing a long-standing meat-based option and adding more plant-based food. According to media outlet Seattle Times, the big-box retailer is in the process of removing the Polish hot dog from  many of its food court locations nationwide in an effort to free menu space for new items such as a meatless Al Pastor Salad (now served with egg-free vegan dressing) and a vegan açaí bowl—which it added to its nationwide locations last month. “This new plant-based protein salad, I know that excites you,” Costco CEO W. Craig Jelinek said to investors during a recent shareholder meeting. “But it is healthy. And, uh, actually, it tastes pretty good, if you like those kind of things. I tried it once.” Executives at Costco are capitalizing on an evident in-store trend, evidenced by the sale of one million units of Don Lee Farms’ vegan Organic Plant-Based Burger in the 60 days after the vegan item debuted in February.