You can only order food at the self-pay kiosk that doesn’t check your barcode and there is generally no enforcement of memberships at the food court as no one has ever asked for my card.

Restricting the food court would generally require checking id cards at the exit and/or demanding a membership card at the self-pay kiosk or upon pickup of food. Nothing described in the article actually does this, so I’m not sure this is what’s being described.

Apparently there are some Costco’s on the West Coast or Southwest where the food courts are outside and don’t require a membership check, so my analysis might not apply to the different setups.