Why Costco's Food Court Stopped Selling Hebrew National Hot Dogs

For many Costco members, a shopping trip isn't complete without stopping at the food court for the famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. The warehouse retailer sells more franks than Major League Baseball, reaching a new high of 245 million in the 2025 fiscal year, and its many fans even included late cooking icon Julia Child. Hebrew National hot dogs were used for many years, but Costco shifted to its own Kirkland Signature brand to help it keep the price at $1.50.

The combo has cost the same since 1985, a big savings from what would be more than triple that today if it had kept up with inflation. But that doesn't mean there was never any thought of raising it. Former CEO Craig Jelinek said at a 2018 Chamber of Commerce meeting that he'd told founder Jim Sinegal a decade earlier that they were losing money on the food court's most popular order. But Sinegal responded, "If you raise the f***ing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out" (per 425 Business).

The execs' solution was to replace the Hebrew National hot dogs and those from Sinai 48, the other brand Costco used, with their own Kirkland Signature franks in 2009, reducing its costs from what had been the suppliers'rising prices — the kosher companies could not keep up with Costco's demand. Jewish people make up a mere 2.4% of the American population; the kosher hot dog suppliers simply did not have the facilities in place to meet the voracious supply Costco needed.

The warehouse initially opened a factory to produce its own franks in California, and added a second one later in Illinois. At one point, it also changed the 12-ounce cans of soda in the combo deal to 20-ounce fountain drinks, which were less expensive despite being bigger, to also cut its expenditures.

The hot dogs Costco produces are larger than the Hebrew National and Sinai 48 ones were — now touted as ¼-pound "plus" on the food court menu, and also aren't kosher. They're additionally made from USDA Choice beef without any fillers or corn syrup. Shoppers can pick up the same ones in the warehouses. The Kirkland Signature Beef Dinner Franks, which topped our ranking of hot dog brands, come 14 to a 61-ounce pack, making them 4.36 ounces each. There are also smaller 2-ounce Kirkland Signature Beef Hot Dogs in packs of 12.

For Costco, the major effort of taking over frank production to drive down its losses was worth it to maintain the combo at $1.50, and therefore keep members happy and renewing their memberships. It's the same reason they established their own Nebraska chicken processing plant in 2019 to avoid increasing the cost of the popular $4.99 rotisserie chicken. However, they did tighten enforcement in 2024 of the rule that only members can buy from the food court, so that only they benefit.

Ron Vachris, who became CEO in 2024, gave the most recent reassurance that the price isn't changing in a March 2026 Instagram video. Vachris is following the trend of other fast food CEOs who've been doing the same thing. While enjoying the frank, he pledges, "The hot dog price will not change as long as I'm around."