Fast food chains in US begin serving alcohol

Fast-food chains like Burger King and Sonic have added new menu items that are creating quite a buzz in the US: beer and wine.

Sonic, which sells burgers, corn dogs and hot dogs, will be selling bottled and draft beer along with 10 varieties of wine to customers who eat on the outdoor patio at their Miami location this summer, reports USA Today. They will also sell alcohol at their Fort Lauderdale location.

Though uncommon in the US, fast-food chains in Europe have been selling beer since the 1970s. The first McDonald's in Munich, Germany, for instance, opened in 1971 and was the first to sell beer.

Burger King also opened a Whopper Bar in Miami's South Beach last February, where they sell beer in special aluminum bottles for $4.25 (€2.93). In total, there are three Whopper Bars which serve alcohol in the US, as well as locations in Singapore, Venezuela and Spain, the paper reports.

And Starbucks sells beer and wine at four locations in its birthplace of Seattle, which sell at $5 (€3.45) a bottle, and $9 (€6.20) for a glass of wine.

Industry experts say the move into liquor licenses is to try and compete with casual dining and capitalize on patio season.