California Costco locations have quietly rolled out the first big food court update in years, adding a first-of-its-kind (domestically, at least) hot food item that fans have long been eager to try. And while the famously media-shy company has made little public mention of the menu item, it’s already a hit with those who have been lucky enough to try it.
Roughly a week ago, social media whispers began to whip up a frenzy over Costco’s latest food court option: chicken tenders. While other warehouse locations in America have been selling the baked, not fried, bird since the spring, California diners seemingly weren’t able to try them until last week. At multiple locations that SFGATE called — including Alhambra and Los Feliz, both in the greater Los Angeles area, and the Rosedale Highway location in Bakersfield — the chicken tenders only showed up as a surprise menu item on July 11.
Fans often go wild for new Costco food court items, but it’s easy to see why this particular creation is causing a stir now that it’s widely available in California. For starters, the hefty dish — five thick tenders with a Raising Cane’s-like creamy, light orange sauce — is one of the more sizable items to hit the food court in quite some time and is much larger than a simple slice of cheese or the famous hot dog. At $6.99, it’s significantly more expensive than Costco’s most popular hot food items, the hot dog and the pizza slice.
The tenders are also a caloric heavyweight, starting at 1,130 calories and going all the way up to 1,640 calories, per menu signs. What’s more, the new chicken tenders have replaced a polarizing menu item for Costco: the calzone.
Costco offers a slightly different chicken tender option in Canada and Australia, but it’s the first time the tenders have hit the big, busy California market. Over the weekend, a stop at a Los Angeles-area location yielded long lines and increased wait times as the company struggled to keep up with tender demand.
The Bay Area may have been slightly early to the tender party; a worker at the Santa Rosa location told SFGATE by phone that the tenders arrived on July 6, and a worker at the Concord location said the food court had already been selling tenders for “a few days” when SFGATE spoke with them on July 15. Food influencer accounts have also been posting about the tenders at various locations in the area, with at least one account saying that the tenders have been available in Livermore and Pleasanton since at least last week.
So how do the tenders actually taste? Based on one weekend stop, it’s safe to say that the baked tenders will be a hit for a while, though the whole basket can be a slog to get through since the tenders are so large and somewhat monotonous. And since they’re not fried, the tenders are baked to an oven softness that excludes the kind of textural batter crunch that great tenders often have. Still, at just over $7 with taxes, the volume alone should make the tenders a viable food court option for plenty of families.
It’s not surprising that Costco has waded into the chicken wars recently. Tenders and nuggets have been the hottest item on the fast food circuit for a while now, spurred on by America’s seemingly unending appetite for chicken and the massive growth of Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken as a nationwide franchise.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Costco has decided to ideate a bit on its domestic food court menu. In 2024, Costco ditched its churros in favor of a chocolate chip cookie, and more recently, the company has begun to offer bottles of water instead of soda to those purchasing the $1.50 Costco hot dog combo meal. SFGATE reached out to Costco’s corporate headquarters for more information on the quiet rollout of the chicken tenders but did not hear back before publication.