An exploratory pilot study to assess drinking at bars or events located within grocery stores.

Objective: Grocery stores are creating opportunities, such as a separate bar area and including beer and wine tasting events, to create a unique experience that caters to particular groups of clientele to encourage drinking. The goals of the study were to determine whether assortative drinking (i.e. the process of drinking alcohol in places where individuals have similar characteristics) is occurring at grocery stores, assess drink pacing (e.g. drinks per hour), and observe whether grocery stores engaged in responsible beverage service practices during special events and at their bars.

Method: We conducted unobtrusive observations at four grocery stores in Central Ohio to understand who attended special events and/or drinks at the bars located within grocery stores. Demographic characteristics and drinking quantity of the 96 patrons were recorded. Data were analyzed with bivariate statistics.

Major findings: Patrons drank, on average, 3.8 drinks per hour, although standard drink size could not be determined. The locations showed evidence of assortative drinking at the individual level by age and consumption of food. At the establishment level, assortative drinking appears to have occurred by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Drinks per person per hour differed by location, type of drink, and presence of food.

Conclusions: Our work suggests a need to better understand these emerging alcohol establishments, which may create more opportunities to drink while bringing in new or different clientele to drink alcohol. The effects of these locations on alcohol-related problems are an important next step in understanding the full impact of drinking in these locations.