As Starbucks rolls out plan to sell beer and wine, some buzz is negative
| Los Angeles
Starbucks聽has聽been working hard聽on new聽beverages to sell, including energy drinks and a line of fresh juices, but the聽strategy that is generating the most buzz 鈥� both good and bad 鈥� is the聽Seattle-based聽coffee house鈥檚 move to sell alcohol.
The popular聽corner caf茅 company, ubiquitous across the world,聽has been cautiously rolling out a plan to sell beer and wine in select locations, beginning with a handful聽in Seattle. Plans are underway to put the beverages on聽menus聽in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta by the end of 2012.
鈥淲e announced this because our customers requested it,鈥� says Zack Hutson, a spokesman for Starbucks. He聽says the company wants to provide a 鈥渢ransition鈥� environment,聽where customers can 鈥渞elax and聽connect鈥� on their way home from work.
鈥淭he feedback from our Seattle coffeehouses have been very positive,鈥� he adds.
But responses from both聽advocacy groups as well as customers at non-alcoholic locations in southern California suggest that not聽everyone approves.
鈥淭his is just a way for Starbucks to turn into bar bucks,鈥� says Michael Scippa, public affairs director for Alcohol Justice, a northern California non-profit聽based in San聽Rafael that seeks to protect communities from 鈥渢he alcohol industry鈥檚 harmful practices.鈥澛燞e points to聽what he calls the sobering statistics on alcohol-related damage, including everything from spousal abuse to driving fatalities and聽incarceration costs for DUI-related crimes. His聽group conducted a study four years ago that put that figure at some $38 billion annually.
The move to post wine and beer on the聽daily menus alongside hot chocolate and milk 鈥渘ormalizes alcohol consumption鈥� in what has been up until now a very family friendly, social setting, Mr. Scippa says. 鈥淲e consider this a very damaging聽message to send to young people who will see this when they come in with their friends and聽parents,鈥� he adds.聽
Interviews with morning patrons at the corner Starbucks in Sherman Oaks, Calif., show mixed reactions, if slightly negative to the announcement that beer and wine聽might soon be served.
鈥淚f it turns into a bar atmosphere, we definitely won鈥檛 bring him anymore,鈥� says Elisha Larson, sitting with her 18-month-old son and her husband Joel, a minister, who come as a threesome about once a month. 鈥淚t will surprise me if it becomes that. People don鈥檛 think of Starbucks for wine and beer,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 want to come here for quiet and to get away,鈥� says Alexandra Gomez, an international exchange nanny from Bogota, Columbia. There, she says, the famous coffee shops are Juan Valdez, and they don鈥檛 serve beer or wine.
鈥淢y initial reaction to the announcement was negative, but I鈥檓 guessing it won鈥檛 change the nature of this place in the morning,鈥� she says, reading a textbook with sunglasses. People don鈥檛 drink beer and wine in the morning. If it changes the atmosphere here, I won鈥檛 come.鈥�
The after-school safety factor is of concern, says advice expert April Masini, who writes the 鈥淎sk April鈥� online advice column.
鈥淲hile kids used to hang out with laptops to do homework between the hours of 3 p.m. and closing time, there will now be adults drinking and getting buzzed or drunk at the next table,鈥� she says via email. 鈥淧eople who get buzzed loosen their inhibitions and this isn't conducive to mingling with the middle school and high school crowd,鈥� she says, adding that Starbucks that serve alcohol will no longer be as safe a place to send children after school.
Mr. Hutson is quick to point out that not all of the more than 19,000 Starbucks caf茅s worldwide will offer聽wine and beer, adding that the alcoholic items will only be introduced in stores that are situated in the appropriate demographic areas, such as at shopping malls with many restaurants.
鈥淲e are responsive to our customer feedback,鈥� he adds when asked if the company is concerned about negative pushback.
But, points out Ms. Masini, there are problems beyond family atmosphere concerns.
Another problem is that many Starbucks, like the one in Calabasas that is being targeted for alcohol sales in California, is situated by a freeway entrance and exit as well as near several schools. 鈥淒rivers who stop in for a drink and then pop back out onto the freeway are putting themselves and others in danger in a way that chugging a latte and hitting the road doesn't,鈥� she says.
Market researcher David Henkes,聽who聽does beverage alcohol research for Technomic,聽a leading food and beverage consulting firm in Chicago, says the market may prevent Starbucks from expanding alcohol sales too widely. He notes that quick-service聽restaurants that have introduced聽alcoholic beverages have聽typically seen them account for聽鈥渘o more than one to two percent of sales.鈥�
But branding is an issue for a popular chain such as Starbucks, points out PR strategist Anthony Mora, CEO of Anthony Mora Communications, Inc, and author of the PR/marketing books, 鈥淭he Alchemy of Success,鈥� and 鈥淪pin to Win.鈥澛�
He notes that聽the company could take an image hit regardless of whether all the caf茅s actually sell alcohol.聽Beyond that, he says, the chain may be on tricky grounds for the simple聽reason that 75 percent of its customers come in for take-out, a no-no for alcohol sales.
鈥淭hese customers will have to stay and enjoy their beverages in-house,鈥� he notes via email, adding that getting customers to change behavior is much harder than inducing them to try a new drink.
Staff writer Daniel B. Wood contributed to this story.
