Booze in Some Restaurants Causing Headaches

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According to the New York Times, some restaurant chains are trying to introduce beer, wine and spirits to boost sales as a result of the economy, but are not not succeeding as they thought they would.

Outlets that specialize in quick meals, such as Starbucks, Sonic, and Guy & Gallard in New York, have been experimenting with adding alcohol to their menus. Pret a Manger, the British sandwich amker, is considering adding wines to its stores in Paris, and Burger King began selling beer at its more expensive Whopper Bars in the United States last year.

“Alcoholic beverages are highly, highly profitable,” said Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant industry analyst at the market research firm the NPD Group. “It’s been such a challenging time for the restaurant industry, I think they’re trying to pull out all the stops and try different ways of getting consumers to the restaurant.”

Several of the chains say that so far, the introduction of booze to their menu has come with little reward. Customers do not think that a value meal pairs well with a glass of wine or beer, and the logistics involved with selling alcohol can be very expensive. Problems include obtaining permits, training a staff that has high turnover, slowing down service when IDs have to be checked, and finding a dedicated area for alcohol service.

“Fast-food restaurants aren’t set up to be bars,” said David Henkes, who advises restaurants on alcohol sales at the consulting firm Technomic. “Based upon the amount of sales that most restaurants would get from alcohol, it’s just not feasible for most restaurants to do it.”

Starbucks is testing wine and beer sales in five stores in the Pacific Northwest. Three-quarters of its store traffic in the United States occurs before 2 p.m. each day, said spokesman Corey duBrowa, and the alcohol is meant to attract a nighttime customer.