Starbucks Nixes ‘Evenings’ Program, Will No Longer Serve Wine and Tapas

Who goes to Starbucks to drink pinot noir and eat truffle mac and cheese? Not many people, apparently. The company is nixing its “Evenings” program that brought beer, wine, and small plates to more than 400 stores, the Seattle Times reports.

Starbucks first tested the Evenings endeavor in 2010, and the company began rolling it out nationwide in 2014.

The Evenings menu, which includes items such as bacon-wrapped dates and spinach-artichoke dip alongside craft beer and wines, will officially disappear from stores on January 10. “This will allow the majority of our locations to focus on our core business, continuing to deliver the Starbucks experience for our customers while optimizing the evening for our premium customer,” a Starbucks spokesperson says.

This won’t be the end of Starbucks serving booze, however: Beer and wine, as well as spirits, will find their way to the menus at the company’s higher-end Reserve and Roastery locations. Last month chief executive officer Howard Schultz stepped down from his post in order to focus on the fancy Reserve brand, which hopes to woo snobs with premium offerings such as Chemex and pour-over coffee.

And while Starbucks may be throwing in the towel on tapas, it has plenty of other new menu items on the way. Sous vide egg bites, a bread-free breakfast option aimed at the low-carb crowd, will debut next week, and the chain just added two new drinks: a self-explanatory smoked butterscotch latte and the more esoteric cascara latte, which is made with the fruit of the coffee tree and reportedly has a flavor reminiscent of maple and molasses.

The company also revealed at a recent investor event that it’s focusing its efforts on expanding lunchtime offerings, so brace for more sandwiches and salads — and, strangely enough, soups.

• Starbucks Takes Wine, Beer, Food Off Evening Menu at Its Regular Stores [ST]
• Starbucks to Sell Alcohol in Thousands of Stores [E]