Whole foods tests bars selling craft beer and local wine in its stores

                          Whole Foods Market
The recently opened Bar Lamar in Whole Foods' flagship store in Austin.

Whole Foods is raising the bar.

The upscale grocer, as well-known for its sensory-filled shopping as its often-pricey foods, is opening bars that serve craft beer and local wine in more than a dozen stores nationally in a test before a wider roll-out.

In the past 18 months, small, locally focused bars have opened inside five Whole Foods Markets in California, and two each in Arizona, Illinois and Texas, among others. Earlier this month, it opened one inside its chi-chi flagship store in Austin.

By 2012, the 305-store chain plans to open at least seven more bars — even one in Hawaii, says co-CEO Walter Robb.

PHOTO: Whole Foods' in-store bars
“Coming out of the recession, people are looking for affordable luxuries and more intimate experiences,” he says.

The move comes as like-minded chains are slowly introducing beer and wine. Starbucks is testing beer and wine at a few locations in the Seattle area.

If nothing else, bars in Whole Foods would be a relatively low-cost way to make a lot of money, grocery industry analysts say. Not only will it lure more folks into the store, but it also will likely keep them there longer and boost highly profitable sales of wine and beer. In one step, says veteran supermarket consultant Howard Solganik, “It achieves everything Whole Foods is trying to achieve.”

A beer and wine bar on the premises “can lift the entire experience of shopping,” says Kate Newlin, a business strategy consultant. The one risk, she warns, “is if it takes on a life of its own” and gets rowdy.

That certainly hasn’t been the case at any current locations, Robb says. He says it will not alter the chain’s carefully nurtured image as a friendly place to shop. “This is about creating community in the store,” he says.

Most of the bars are near store wine sections.

Its newest bar in Austin, with about 20 seats, was part of a store remodel. It’s a semi-circle in the middle of the store. The bar offers beer and wine by the glass for $4 to $10, or growler jugs starting at $6.99.

And yes, you may get carded, says spokeswoman Kate Lowery, “if you don’t look old enough.”