After living in Texas for almost a year, I still occasionally experience culture shock.
For example, when I visited Whole Foods in Highland Park for the first time, I was surprised to see a woman inspecting the kale selection while nursing a glass of wine.
Apparently all of the Whole Foods stores in Dallas have bars and happy hour at the grocery store is “a thing.” Perhaps alcohol makes the prices easier to swallow?
Many business are getting into booze – you can drink at most fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and Taco Cabana, and even Starbucks offers wine now.
A Starbucks advertising wine near Dallas’s Swiss Avenue District.
The abundance of local drinking options is why I was surprised to read an article the Washington Post about how “neighborhood bars are on the decline.”
The premise: neighborhood bars are closing down, liquor stores are opening, so therefore at-home drinking is on the rise.
At-home drinking may be on the rise, but neighborhood bars are not on the decline. The bar still exists as an American “third place,” but bars simply come in more forms now.
Anyone who watches Bar Rescue knows that many neighborhood bars now serve food because it dramatically increases the time (and money) that people spend in your establishment.
Chain restaurants and grocery stores also have bars to increase their profits.
The Washington Post article is based on a Nielson report on neighborhood bars which specifically excludes brewpubs, cafes, grocery store bars, and any establishment that serves food.
In Nielson’s world, sports bars like Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters are not bars. The Cedar Springs Tap House and 90% of the bars in Dallas’s Uptown are also not bars because they serve food.
This is an unnecessarily narrow definition that obscures what is really going on:
In 2016, there are more neighborhood bars than ever.
Outdated dive bars that don’t serve food may be on the decline, but perhaps that is because we prefer to drink while eating a burger or selecting overpriced organic Kale.
No Comments