Drinking while grocery shopping

[Kent Wang]

The Whole Foods flagship here in Austin is licensed to not only sell but also serve alcohol. There are small stands in the store where one can sit and order food and alcohol.

What I only realized last week was that you can also just pick up any bottle of beer or wine that they sell, pay for it at any of the stands and proceed to walk around the store drinking and shopping. This is truly marvelous. I enjoyed a bottle of Orval for only $4 while shopping that day. I've never seen anyone else drink and shop there, so I believe this is a little known fact.

I wish more groceries and markets allowed you to drink. I'm not one who rushes through shopping. I like to look at all the latest products, ponder over purchasing decisions, have a chat with the fishmonger, etc.

Farmers markets would be another great place to drink and shop, especially considering how much more personal and social the shopping experience is.

[Chris Amirault]

Could you drink it right out in the open, or did you have to go NYC via WF and put it in a little reusable brown bag made from recycled materials?

[SundaySous]

I'd like to add libraries to the list of places that should serve alcohol.

They do serve samples of wine and liquors at our local Jewel Foods here in Chicago. Wonder how that works. Funny because their policy is to card everyone regardless. so you might see a line of three people waiting to be carded.

[srhcb]

Is there a jukebox or pool table?

Are you allowed to smoke?

Or, are there spitoons?

Can you hustle up floozies?

I'm afraid I think this is just plain nuts!

And I once thought an all night donut and shoe repair joint was a great idea!

[Peter the eater]

Personally, I think this is a positive evolution in grocery shopping.

I'm afraid I would feel compelled to start sampling everything, or maybe go "turkey bowling" in the aisles. Only then would I consider "hustling up the floozies".

Our liquor stores occasionally serve food, like when the Captain Morgan Rum guy comes to town, so why not?

[iriee]

damn i love it! up here in ct. you could do loops around the place then call a cab!

[TBoner]

The same is true of Whole Foods here in Dallas and of Central Market. I've enjoyed a Sierra Nevada Celebration while shopping there, and it's a beautiful experience. I don't mind waiting in line at the fish counter so much when sipping on hoppy goodness.

[ChefCrash]

I can see it now, an idiot in front of me in the U-Scan checkout lane. Cell phone in one hand and a beer in the other?

Yup, I can see me getting arrested.

[Dante]

Not q-u-i-t-e the same thing but the local food co-op has free wine and beer tastings about every week or so. Frequently more than one tasting at a time.

I have, purely by accident, mind you, caught a light buzz while shopping before...

Sincerely,

Dante

[Kent Wang]

Personally, I think this is a positive evolution in grocery shopping.

←

Alcohol sales go up, and sales of everything else go up as well. Everybody wins!

[Octaveman]

I'm kinda wondering why people get so excited to new ways/places to drink beer/wine. Are you THAT much of a drinker that you have to have a glass in your hand at all times? Do you feel naked without a glass in your hand or something? Or is it just the novelty of something new? Good god, I hope it's the latter.