Sam's Club Food Court Secrets Only Regulars Know

It's already a well-known fact that Sam's Club food court offers tasty treats and meals at bargain prices. But did you know you can blend a fountain soda with an ICEE or frozen yogurt to make your own soda slushies and floats? That's just one food court secret that Sam's Club regulars know and love. Or that you might be able to bypass membership checks and long lines at the cash register? Beyond the incredible budget-friendly menu prices, dedicated Cafe fans and Sam's Club regulars have uncovered a variety of clever hacks and yummy tricks. 

Although exact pricing, store policies, and item availability can differ depending on location, we focused our search on nationwide food court secrets you can likely try anywhere — and I've tried several listed here. Now let's dig into these little-known tips and tricks to use on your next Sam's Club food court visit.

To snag great warehouse deals at Sam's Club, you need to be a member. In fact, it's the number one Sam's Club rule to know before you shop. But what about the food court? Is membership required to grab some grub? The answer depends on the setup of your local Sam's Club.

Unlike Costco, most Sam's Club stores don't check membership at the door, only at checkout. So no membership is needed to enter and explore the store. At the food court, called the Cafe, there are two checkout options: an in-person cashier and Scan & Go. If your local store has a register at the cafe, then you're in luck. These cashiers won't ask to see your membership card.

However, if your local store got rid of the register and now uses Scan & Go, you're out of luck, since a valid membership is required to log in to the app and use the Scan & Go feature. At locations like these, no membership means no food. But honestly, forking over the money for a low-cost membership is more than worth it for super-cheap Cafe grub.

Sam's Club is largely adopting the Scan & Go checkout method for many of its cafes. But not all of them. Older locations usually still feature the register at the food court, and several stores that got rid of the registers actually brought them back.

The biggest downside to any in-person cashier system is the potential for a long line. This seems especially true for the Sam's Club food court, as the person at the front of the line orders, pays, and then waits for their food. So, if the line is long when you get there, you can expect to wait a while.

However, you may be able to skip the line using Scan & Go. This is especially true if you just want a fountain drink or ICEE. Simply order on the app, and once the purchase is confirmed, walk to the separate pickup area and show them your receipt. A helpful employee will then hand you the cups you need. This line-skipping method doesn't work as well for food items that need to be prepared. Not only does it take time to make the item, but with limited Cafe staff, those standing in line are often prioritized. 

Nothing beats a cold, refreshing beverage on a hot summer day. And the size of Sam's Club food court drinks is generous. For 89 cents, you can choose from a fizzy drink from the soda fountain or a sugary, delicious frozen ICEE.

However, if you're looking for a unique combo that's cold and refreshing, why not mix the two to create a soda slushie — which you can even make at home? For a cola slushie, start with some Coke and top it off with cola-flavored ICEE. Or add cherry ICEE to a Dr. Pepper for a burst of cherry flavor. With three or four ICEE flavors and multiple fountain beverage options, the combinations are limitless. Adding ICEE to your fountain drink not only makes it super cold, but also helps avoid the watered-down effect of using just ice.

This yummy hack works best if your store has self-serve ICEEs. If it has ICEEs behind the counter, you can still create a soda slushie — order your favorite ICEE flavor, drink a bit, and top it back off with a fountain beverage.

One of the most popular Sam's Club food court hacks is the float. You just need to order two things: a drink and a cup of frozen yogurt. Both the chocolate and vanilla flavors come in a large portion that contains three scoops' worth of fro yo. This lets you create floats for the whole family.

The root beer float is a popular pairing of vanilla fro yo and fountain root beer, but it's not the only one. You could make a Coke float with vanilla, or add chocolate fro yo to a Dr Pepper for an extra decadent sip. Fizzy, sweet, creamy — yum!

Then there's the ICEE float creation. This viral treat tops an already cold, tasty ICEE with a scoop or two of creamy fro yo. One of the most popular mixes is the blue raspberry flavor with vanilla frozen yogurt. Several years ago, the ICEE float was on the Cafe menu. Now, if you want to taste the treat, you'll need to craft it yourself.

After spending time and energy shopping, going home to cook dinner for the whole family may sound like torture. This is where the Cafe at Sam's Club can be a lifesaver. A whole 16-inch pizza only costs $8.98. And the best part? You can get your pizza with zero wait time when you order through the app.

When you first enter the store to start shopping, open the app and use the Scan & Go feature to order pizza. As you grab groceries, the cafe staff will prepare your pizzas. Once they're fully cooked, they are slid into a pizza warmer so they will stay hot whether your shopping excursion takes 20 minutes or an hour.

After you've finished purchasing groceries, skip the cafe line and go straight to the pickup area. Simply show them your order, and they'll hand you your pizzas — dinner is taken care of.

Once only a secret menu option, the pizza pretzel is a delicious combination of tasty pretzel bread, gooey cheese, and savory slices of pepperoni. This craveable combo is usually served with a side of marinara for dipping. But many customers don't stop there.

Grabbing a few condiments from the self-serve bar, pizza pretzel lovers have found a way to elevate the experience. Cheese lovers sprinkle parmesan packets over their pizza pretzels, and spice lovers do the same with red pepper flakes. Or, you can add the condiments directly into the marinara sauce to get a mix of flavors with each dip. 

Whether you prefer cheese, spice, or both, there's no doubt the pizza pretzel is delicious. Add a drink to your pizza pretzel purchase to upgrade the snack to a meal.

Sam's Club is pretty good about offering popular condiments free of charge. There is usually parmesan and red pepper for the pizza, as well as a variety of hot dog toppings including ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, and relish.

The one glaring condiment omission is ranch. If you are among the ranch-loving crowd, there is an easy workaround to the lack of this creamy goodness in the food court — buy your own. There's no rule that states you aren't allowed to open your purchased Sam's Club condiments in the food court. So if you grabbed some ranch during your shopping, feel free to open and slather it on your pizza or pretzel.

Other store-bought condiment and Cafe food pairings include Hershey's syrup on a cinnamon pretzel, jalapeños on a hot dog, or buffalo sauce on a slice of cheese pizza. Anything that pleases your tastes buds, and doesn't leave a mess for the staff to clean up, is worth a try. 

The days of a Sam's Club secret menu may be coming to an end. Not only has the pizza pretzel officially made it onto the Cafe menu, but corporate seems to be cracking down on what is viewed as customizations. Store policies are already pretty strict, but sometimes food court staff are willing to bend the rules, especially if it's a slow day. When they're slammed and understaffed, however, asking employees to slice your pizza in half or mix the chocolate and vanilla fro yo, may get denied.

Other customization requests are simply not possible. For example, at Costco you can order a half cheese and half pepperoni pizza, but this is not an option at Sam's. Pizzas are usually premade at the start of the shift, meaning there is no way to turn a 4-meat pizza into half 4-meat and half pepperoni. Substituting ICEEs for fountain drinks is another no-no, as the two products have different store costs.

Even though your location may be unable to customize your order, there's nothing stopping you from doing it yourself. Grab a plastic knife and fork to cut that jumbo slice of pizza in half, or use your extra fountain drink cup to make a soda slushie with your ICEE. You can even create your own Sam's Club food court hacks.

When comparing the Sam's Club Cafe menu to Costco's food court menu, you'll definitely see more items listed on Costco's menu. Generally Sam's Club sticks to the basics and tends to bundle items into meals. For example, the pizza combo comes with a slice plus a drink for one price, while Costco sells the drink and slice of pizza separately. 

Costco offers a wider variety of food items on its menu, however, these items can be seasonal, regional, or temporary. For instance, new items like the Churro Caramel Sundae and the Double Chocolate Mint Sundae were released in February of 2026. But were removed a few months later to be replaced with a strawberry shortcake sundae. Other items, like fries, are regional, previously only sold in select stores in the US and now only sold in Canada Costco food courts. 

While the Sam's Club menu is more streamlined, all of the items are available at all stores, unless stockouts get in the way. Sam's Club rarely changes up its menu, discounting items like the Churros only when doing so improves efficiency. So while you'll have less variety at the Sam's Club Cafe, you do have the security of knowing the items you do love will likely stay on the menu and be available at at any location you go to.