SWAMPSCOTT — Sip & Shop, Whole Foods’ plan to combine grocery shopping in its Paradise Road store with wine and beer drinking, gets a Select Board review on Wednesday.
The Board meets Dec. 4 in Swampscott High School room B-129 at 7:15 p.m. to discuss the grocery store chain’s application for an on-premises restaurant approval to serve wine and malt beverages. Whole Foods has added “sip & shop” to stores around the country for a decade.
Molly O’Connell, senior planner for the Community and Economic Development office, told town Zoning Board of Appeals members in August that Whole Foods plans only to sell single glasses of beer or wine to customers.
The store chain proposal reviewed by the board said the grocer is looking to offer various opportunities for local craft beer and vintage wine vendors to feature their products in the store. Aside from the Sip & Shop program, tap takeovers as well as pop-up and sampling events might also be on the horizon.
Attorneys for Whole Foods submitted two special permit requests to the appeals board related to sip & shop in August. Both were approved.
The first allows sale and consumption of alcohol in the 331 Paradise Road store. The second will add 7,500 square feet of floor space for a wine and beer pouring station. The additions will become part of the already 36,000-square-foot store, according to the proposal.
Alcoholic beverage service would be confined to the store’s interior with no outside seating. If approved, any Whole Foods employee who serves alcohol must be TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) certified, in order to prevent intoxication, drunk driving, and underage drinking. Employees will also be required to take an online ServSafe Alcohol class.
Whole Foods representatives told appeals board members that store customers will only be allowed one drink per identification shown. If they are found giving it to someone else, it will be confiscated and they will be asked to leave the store. If found drinking their glass outside of the store’s front doors, customers will be asked to come inside or surrender their drink to an employee.
A camera will be located at the pouring station with footage available upon request, the documents said. During their appeals board proposal, Whole Foods indicated the store chains has received no citations or violations related to the program in any of the stores currently operating it.
Glassware disposal stations and carriage drink holders will also be added to accommodate the program.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
