This is what I was thinking, for the small percentage of people who want wine and must have it outdoors then let them know that you can make a to-go bag and the place next door has an excellent selection of wines and coffees.
And even if the coffee shop doesn’t want to people bringing your sandwiches (because they have their own sandwiches or small plates or whatever) then you just write off those customers and tell them to go next door for food and drink. Yeah you’d loose the business but if those customers care more about drinking in the fresh air (which I can appreciate) than having a nice deli sandwiches then they aren’t really your target market anyhow.
Each establishment could offer discount vouchers for the other’s specialty products? Might that increase sales overall? People love to get a little deal.
I would have no problem being honest and explaining the situation. You may want to put a sign on the door that reads “Please feel free to enjoy your meal outside. However, Coffee Shop owns the space and has deemed it a non alcoholic area. Beer and Wine must be consumed inside or taken to go.”
Behind my medical facility is a five level parking garage that patients must pay to use. There is ample parking in the front and the side streets. However, the parking garage IS more convenient. One of the other healthcare offices in the building own the building as well as the parking garage. Naturally, patients feel we should validate because the other practice does. We simply explain that we do not own it, they do and therefore, their patients can park for free. Our practice needs to pay $5.00 per parking pass which we simply can not afford to do. They seem to understand.
I agree with not what you’d expect and vote NOT to blame the coffee shop. But since you’ve already paid the money for the license, I’d stock some stuff and sell it. Put up a sign, as others have suggested, that says alcohol must be consumes inside.
The way I see it - you’ve already spent the money. No decision to be made. If you opt not to sell alcohol, you’ll make no profit on it. If you do sell alcohol, you can make a profit from the people who are willing to drink it inside.
It’s not unheard of for me to have a beer with lunch on a Friday. Or other days, if it’s been a particularly trying day.
Customers can take beer and wine to go??? What, in a cup with a lid? Where IS this, I’ve never heard of ordering beer or wine to go! (unless it’s in unopened bottles, of course, but isn’t a drink usually served at the table in a glass?)
I have been to many delis (even a couple right here in Utah, believe it or not) where you can get a cold 6-pack (or a single can or bottle) to go with your ham & swiss on rye and pint of pasta salad.
Being licensed to serve alcohol increases the value of your business. Not always a lot depending on local laws though. It also will have an impact on your insurance. Have you checked with your insurance company about this yet? If it doesn’t increase your operating costs significantly you might as well give it a try. Trouble is, if you start serving alcohol, and then stop, you might lose some customers who come just for that.
It’s not that bizarre to think it’d be nice to have a glass of wine or cold beer (or mimosa…please tell me you serve mimosas with breakfast) with your lunch while on vacation. And it would be nice to have that on a sunny patio.
I can see the coffee shop’s point, though. They have no guarantee that you will manage any drunken guests well, and those guests may disrupt their business. They have no real incentive to play along.
One thing I’ve seen done is designating the row of tables nearest to a business as okay for alcohol consumption (typically these would be taller bar tables) and keeping the main seating off limits. Any chance the coffee bar might be agreeable?
an indulgence while on vacation (ok, and weekends as well) is a beer or two after breakfast. I had a waitress in Jamaica offer me “a beer to settle your breakfast” and a tradition was born.
Same here. Do you make enough profit on alcohol to justify the cost of the license? If you are doing it to make just a couple of good customers happy, you could always tell them the truth. You can’t justify the cost of the license because of the rules of the coffee shop and outdoor drinking.
There is an awesome Korean restaurant in Columbia. It’s very popular but it takes forever to get your food. They don’t have a liquor license but they have no problem with your party bringing in a six pack or a bottle of wine if you’d like a cocktail before or with dinner.
Of course I’m not sure of the legalities of that where you are. If it was only for a special customer or two maybe you could even keep a bottle of wine or a couple of beers in the back for them and give them one on the house every once in a while to keep them happy and coming back.
