Free snacks at the “Consumption Bar” include chips, guacamole and salsa, cheese and numbers of flavors of popcorn. (WTOP/Kristi King)
WASHINGTON — Grocery shopping is becoming more of a leisure activity at some Washington area stores, where customers can enjoy wine and beer by the glass while shopping.
Consumption bars at two D.C. Giant Foods host happy hours and weekly drink specials that include everything from craft beers to mimosas and sangria.
“We have groups that meet here,” bar manager Joseph Turner said. “We have a crowd that comes in just on Friday nights. Anybody is welcome to come. When you come they suck you right up into the conversation.”
Turner says people who gather at the bar and nearby high-top tables enjoy adult beverages and discuss everything from politics to sports and relationships.
Patrons confirming appropriate age with proper IDs are limited to two beverages per visit.
Seven area Whole Foods Markets allow customers to sip and shop. The Ashburn, Va. location even includes spirits and specialty cocktail options.
Working to raise the bar for customer attractions, the Cathedral Commons Giant at 3336 Wisconsin Ave NW hosts a live jazz band twice a month with an accompanying wine tasting.
“I never miss it,” Jacqueline Gallagher says of the live jazz on alternating Thursdays. “I think it’s great.”
Asked about the music, wine tasting and sip and stroll shopping, Gallagher said it’s one of the charms of living in the District.
“Suburbanites, come on in,” she invites enthusiastically.
On St. Patrick’s Day, the Cathedral Commons Giant consumption bar will serve green popcorn and green beer and will host a Scotsman playing bagpipes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
