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The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Tuesday granted the national coffee chain a limited-service restaurant liquor license in five locations:
- Salt Lake City — Inside the Crandall Building at City Creek, 10 W. 100 South.
- Holladay — 3158 E. 6200 South
- Farmington — 332 W. Union Ave. at Station Park
- Lehi — 2951 W. Clubhouse Lane at Thanksgiving Point
- Park City — 1700 Park Ave.
"They have to meet the same requirements any licensee has to meet," said DABC spokeswoman Vickie Ashby.
Under Utah law, restaurants with a limited-service liquor license can sell beer and wine as long as 70 percent of overall sales consists of food, which includes coffee.
Alcohol can also only be served to patrons who intend to dine, and the beverages must be prepared and stored out of customers' view.
The five Starbucks stores won't begin serving alcoholic beverages until after they are remodeled to comply with state law. Alcohol will not be sold at the drive-thru windows or to go.
Once the stores are approved, Starbucks will begin its dining program "Starbucks Evenings" in Utah, where beer and wine is offered starting in the afternoon until 30 minutes before closing hours.
Starbucks first started serving beer and wine at one of its Seattle cafes in 2010, opening its liquor cabinets at 4 p.m.
"Starbucks Evenings" is part of the company's push to boost sales after morning rush hour, driven by customers craving caffeine.
Starbucks, along with four other Utah restaurants, were granted the five limited-service restaurant licenses available in the state Tuesday, Ashby said.
Because state law ties licence availability to population, Utah only allows a set number of limited-service licenses until population increases or a restaurant relinquishes its license.
Three DABC commissioners voted unanimously to approve Starbucks' license after Commissioner Neal Berube removed himself from the vote, saying his role as CEO of Associated Food Stores, a partner with Starbucks, would have been a conflict of interest.
