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Target applies for liquor license to start serving alcohol on site

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RBH

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Borrowing from the playbook of upscale grocers such as Whole Foods Market and the East Coast’s Wegmans, Target is aiming to serve alcohol right in the store.

Angie Thompson, a Target spokesperson, confirmed that the Minneapolis-based retailer applied in August for liquor licenses to sell and serve alcohol at a planned store in near Chicago’s Navy Pier. If approved, it would be the first time Target has served alcohol. “We sell liquor at a number of stores, but we currently don’t have any Target stores that serve liquor on site,” she told Fortune. She declined to comment further on the plan’s details.

The 24,000-square-foot store in the Streeterville neighborhood also could open the way for the chain of 1,799 U.S. stores to play bartender to dads shopping for car wax and moms seeking back-to-school sneakers. Though the Streeterville store was announced as a TargetExpress, its newest and smallest store format, when it opens on Oct. 7, it will be branded as a Target and offer other amenities such as a pharmacy, Target Mobile, in-store pickup and Starbucks. Beginning this fall, the retailer will be rebranding its other small stores, and the TargetExpress and CityTarget stores will be known simply as Target and identified with the bullseye logo.

The chain’s evolving flexible store design strategy aims to match the layout and offerings to the neighborhood. Navy Pier is a Chicago landmark and tourist destination that attracts millions every year. The Streeterville Target will be about one-fifth the size of a traditional outlet and will be “responding to local market conditions. Localization is a priority for us,” said Thompson.

Though it’s easy to picture hordes cruising the housewares aisles, a cold brew snuggled in the shopping cart cup holder, the reality is likely different. If the discounter follows the lead of its grocery store competitors, it will serve beer and wine at in-store bars or lounges. Target also is paying more attention to its grocery offerings, announcing that it plans to carry more organic, natural and local products. It also will start testing a new in-store cafe concept, USA Today reports.

Target won’t be the first grocer to fulfill shopping lists for bread, butter and a beer on-the-spot. A Whole Foods Market near the planned Chicago Target already serves alcohol in the store. New York’s Columbus Circle Whole Foods has a 40-seat bar and San Francisco locations offer craft beer at the Steep Brew tap rooms.

When Whole Foods began testing the in-store cocktail bar in 2011, co-CEO Walter Robb said, “Coming out of the recession, people are looking for affordable luxuries and more intimate experiences.” Other chains have added options to dine and drink in the store, such as the Midwest’s Hy-Vee Market Café , pubs and restaurants inside Wegmans and ShopRite, where customers of the Greater Morristown store can use free daycare, a learning center, yoga studio and sip beer or wine at a sit-down oyster bar. Even Starbucks has added evening craft beer, wine and snacks to its perky morning menu.

As grocery stores nationwide have evolved into food-centric lifestyle centers, Target’s potential new bar looks more like an attempt to catch up with trends rather than match the needs of its customers, said David J. Livingston, a Wisconsin supermarket research consultant. “For an upscale, fresh grocery store, it makes sense because you’re serving food and it’s more of a place where people go after work to socialize,” he said. “Normally, the [grocery stores] that have bars have a food service alternative, like dinner selections.”

For Target, “Groceries are an afterthought,” Livingston said. “At Whole Foods, it’s become a social center, where there will be a DJ or a trivia game to win gift cards to the store.” The profitability is debatable, given the labor and other costs, but that may not be the point, said Livingston. ‘It’s more of a novelty. It draws people into the store.”
Click to expand...
http://fortune.com/2015/09/01/target-alcohol/



Several retailers not known for booze have also announced plans recently to expand their offerings, including Taco Bell and Starbucks. This month, Starbucks accelerated its effort to sell wine and craft beer in its U.S. stores, while Taco Bell said in June that it planned to serve alcohol at a Chicago location that opened this summer.
Click to expand...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...cago-store-applies--liquor-licenses/71478518/
 
R

RBH

Member
liliththepale said:
I've been buying wine from Target for a couple years now. How is this new?
Click to expand...
Maybe if you actually read the OP, you could figure it out.


Angie Thompson, a Target spokesperson, confirmed that the Minneapolis-based retailer applied in August for liquor licenses to sell and serve alcohol at a planned store in near Chicago’s Navy Pier. If approved, it would be the first time Target has served alcohol. “We sell liquor at a number of stores, but we currently don’t have any Target stores that serve liquor on site,” she told Fortune.
Click to expand...
 
R

rocketskates

Member
liliththepale said:
I don't know how I missed that, but thank you for not being snarky with your answer.



That's a bit rich coming from an asshole.
Click to expand...
greenanole2.jpg


But on topic, this is an interesting idea. I'm already wanting to see what Taco Bell and Starbucks come up with.
 
L

liliththepale

Banned
AnAnole said:
I am a bit of an asshole =(

I think you're a good poster, but I couldn't pass up the oportunity.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry for overreacting. I deserve to get shit for not properly reading the OP. I hate it when others do that too.


Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
This sounds terrible... Probably have the cleanliness and service of those disgusting dive bars. Don't really want.
Click to expand...

The Targets I frequent tend to be reasonably cleanly, including the in-store Starbucks and McDonalds they often have. Is this not the case where you live?
 
U

unholyrevenger72

Banned
uhhh, the target i worked at nearly 7 years ago did that while i was there....

edit nvm. they're Serving Alcohol to raging shop-a-holics on Black Friday.
 
J

jb1234

Member
Sure, let's have people driving home after shopping and drinking at Target. What could possibly go wrong?
 
F

Futureman

Member
soooo unappealing to me. Why would I ever want to spend any more time than necessary at Target?

and I DO like Target. I shop there a decent amount. Just have zero interest in spending leisure time at Target.
 
L

LUFTRAUSER

Banned
Guys, focus on the big picture here! If you think this will be bad at Target, Imagine what it will be like when Wal-Mart follows suit...
 
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