Whole Foods hopes to bring shop-while-you-drink concept to Sudbury store

SUDBURY, Mass. — Imagine being able to enjoy a glass of wine while grocery shopping.

The grocery chain Whole Foods is hoping to bring the shop-while-you-drink concept to their Sudbury location, but they'll have to jump through some hoops to make it happen.

Some shoppers at Whole Foods on Thursday said they think it's a pretty cool idea but it could be more than a year for this to come to fruition.

"I am pretty pumped about it! Imagine shopping while you’re having an adult beverage that’s fantastic!" said Jeff Winn, shopper.

Whole Foods brought the idea to the Board of Selectmen, hoping to nab a liquor license that allows the business to serve alcohol to customers in store.

"It’s a new concept on me, I’ve never heard of it before and I’m interested to learn more," said Bob Haarde, Board of Selectmen chairman.

Town officials say they asked for a more detailed plan from the company, but the problem is, the town doesn't have any more liquor licenses to hand out.

"We are at our liquor license quota for the town, so we couldn’t entertain it anyway. So the question would be if they wanted to do a petition to the state legislator," said Haarde.

And Haarde says that process could take more than a year.

But of course, the board has some concerns when it comes to safety and children being inside the store.

And some shoppers aren't too keen on the idea either.

"I don’t know, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to me," said one customer.

But for others, they don't see a problem.

"I don’t see any reason why not, I mean if you can go across the street and eat dinner and have a drink why can’t you shop and do it," said Sam Maxim, shopper.

The board chairman told Boston 25 News that Whole Foods would have to get through Sudbury town officials first, then if they're approved they would have to go to Beacon Hill, but it's a process that could take a long time.

Cox Media Group