What Happened To Target's Food Courts?

If you are a long-time Target shopper, chances are you remember the chain's iconic food courts, which could be found in Target stores across the country from the 1990s until the 2010s. Similar to Costco's beloved (and ever-changing) food courts, Target Cafes were found at the front of each Target store, with food and drinks bought from them being allowed to be eaten throughout the store as you shop. However, Target Cafes — also known as Food Avenue — were unfortunately removed from stores in the mid-2010s, likely due to low profits compared to what it cost the chain to operate them.

While it eventually became unnecessary for Target to keep its food courts open, the reason they existed in the first place was an integral aspect of the chain's success. The Target Cafes served as an additional incentive for shoppers to remain at the store for longer periods of time and, as a result, to spend more money. This strategy, known as the Target Effect, can be seen in several design and marketing decisions made by the chain, but its use of food courts was among the clearest examples of it during its existence.

Despite mainly being a trick to make customers spend more money, Target's food courts are still greatly missed by countless consumers who got to experience them in their heyday. However, in the years since the Target Cafes closed, different food-related areas began occupying their spaces. For starters, fast food chains like Pizza Hut and Starbucks (which even became included in the Target Drive Up program starting in 2023) are now frequently found inside Target locations for customers to enjoy before, during, or after shopping. Some of these were first integrated into the Target Cafes in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but now they stand alone within many of the chain's locations nationwide.

Furthermore, some Target locations also have a self-service snack bar at the front of the store in place of the beloved food court. While most of these snack bars offer hot or fresh foods like the Target Cafes once did, premade sandwiches, bottled drinks, and fountain drinks can typically be found in the area.