Delectable bargain dinning is soon to become a heavenly experience for many at America’s favorite holes in the wall; upon making a pitstop at a roadside fast food joint, feel free to grab a burger and down some cheap booze. Headliners in the cholesterol-corrupting fast food industry have begun to serve alcohol at various locations within their chains. Despite the perks of a quick euphoria with an express meal, there’s an a major flaw in this equation…you polish off your calorie-packed meat patty and swig your cheap booze only to leave the drive-thru lane behind the wheel of your car.
To parallel themselves with restaurants who break the bank with alcohol sales, places like Sonic and Burger King have decided to put bars next to their deep-friers. Two Sonic restaurants in Florida will soon sell beer and wine. Burger King has followed in their footsteps with the opening of “Whopper Bars” that sell beer for $4.25 in Miami, Kansas City and Las Vegas. Even Starbucks recently began serving five dollar beer and nine dollar wine in several of their Seattle stores.
While the new liquor laws in these greasy grills may bring in more customers, is the financial boost worth enabling drunk driving? Michelle Simon from the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group, simply sums up this concern,”Fast food plus fast alcohol equals fast drunks.” Christopher Muller, dean at Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration, voiced similar apprehension, “Beer or wine sold at fast-food outlets might give young folks the wrong message.You don’t want someone downing a quick beer, then getting into their cars and driving off. It’s a delicate balance of risk and reward.”
Serving open containers of alcohol at what is strictly a drive-in establishment, Sonic is practically asking for fatal fender benders between wasted motorists. But if you see no inherent risk, go to Burger King where your burger is cooking, your beer is brewing and “have it your way.”