What, no Irish coffee at Starbucks booze launch?

Industry buzzing over the first wine and craft beer locations, plus ‘personalized’ drive thrus

Rossann Williams takes a bite of truffle mac & cheese while perusing a restaurant wine list.

“This is soooo good,” says the cheerful president of Starbucks Canada, who happens to be parked at a company café on Bloor St. W. near Royal York Rd. for an interview with the Star.

It’s one of the first three locations in Canada set to launch a wine, craft beer and tapas menu on Tuesday, capping a whirlwind year of innovations at the 45year-old coffee chain, which opened its first Toronto location two decades ago.

Since taking the helm of Starbucks Canada two years ago, Williams has been focused on taking the java behemoth into the digital future with its mobile orderand-pay app while expanding offerings to include kale and quinoa options at lunch, plus alcohol and small, shareable plates after 2 p.m. to keep customers coming in both day and night.

The first three licenced locations are in higher-end neighbourhoods in Toronto: 446 Spadina Rd. north of St. Clair Ave. W.; 1740 Avenue Rd. north of Lawrence Ave.; and 3079 Bloor St. W. at Thompson Ave. Williams says the move is intended to elevate the Starbucks experience.

Some in the industry, though, say only time will tell whether the concept will work across the chain of 1,300 locations in Canada. Fast food chicken chain KFC started offering beer in 2014 at locations at Yonge and Bloor and in the Stockyards, but never expanded the concept, while Taco Bell put beer on its menu board at one Chicago location last summer.

For Starbucks, launching in tonier neighbourhoods makes the pilot project less risky, industry watchers say.

“It’s easier for them to do than it is for McDonald’s in that they appeal to an older, wealthier crowd,” said Douglas Fisher, president of food consultancy FHG International.

“Starbucks is enhancing its product line and maximizing its revenue in relation to the rent that they are paying for their pristine locations,” he said.

The new menu includes two flatbreads, one meat and one veggie ($7.95), spinach artichoke dip with pita chips ($6.95), truffle mac & cheese ($6.95), meatballs with tomato basil sauce ($5.95), baconwrapped dates ($5.95), marinated chicken skewers ($5.95), and truffle popcorn ($2.95).

Two of the four white wines are from the Niagara region, including 6 ounces of Vintage Ink Chardonnay for $11and Fielding Estate Riesling at $10. The red wines are all international brands and range from $10 to $13 per 6-ounce glass. A rotating selection of Ontario craft beer and cider will cost $5 to $6.

Just don’t expect your coffee to be Irish at this stage, says Williams, who hopes the evening menu concept will take off in Canada much the way it has in the U.S. since it launched there five years ago.

“We will always be coffee first, but that will be complimented by many other things. It’s a growth plan.”

Ken Wong, marketing professor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, gives kudos to Starbucks for their mobile ordering app launched last October, but he’s not convinced alcohol will pan out for the coffee giant.

“I don’t see Starbucks as a watering hole,” he said. “I’m trying to picture them serving beer to someone sitting with their laptop who is working on their doctoral thesis. They don’t have the space for it.”

Starbucks has made several moves in the last year to jolt its coffee business. Personalized Drive-Thru

All 250 drive-thrus will be equipped with a two-way video screen allowing customers and baristas to see each other when the order is being placed.

The technology is already at 25 locations across Canada and will continue to roll out this year. Williams wants to increase the number of drive-thrus at its 1,300 Canadian restaurants. McDonald’s, by comparison, has a drive-thru at most of its 1,400 Canadian locations. Mobile order-and-pay app

Despite issues after the launch last October, when several regular menu items were not available on the app, Williams insists Starbucks has ironed out the kinks and that it has “far exceeded our expectations so far” in customer usage and feedback. Availability has expanded since then from 300 stores in the GTA to 1,000 across the chain. Mobile payments now account for 20 per cent of Starbucks’ business. Express stores

Starbucks called it an espresso shot across the bow of the commuter coffee wars when it launched an express location in January in Union Station, near the stand-alone McCafe concept store in the new York St. concourse. The express spot is actually the third for the chain after opening two in New York — on Wall Street and in the Empire State Building — earlier last year. The idea is to cut standard wait times roughly in half. Look for more down the road. Menu changes

The headline-grabbing launch of alcohol and evening tapas was preceded by a big menu revamp last year, starting with a new line of pastries and all-day breakfast sandwiches. Customers can also now request a carbonation option for their Teavana teas and fruit juices, plus small-lot Starbucks Reserve coffees. And there was also a huge push to grow the lunch crowd with Paninis and lower calorie options.