Starbucks is a step closer to serving beer and wine at some of its Phoenix locations. The city council approved the idea Wednesday, even though the police department was against it.

The coffee giant wants restaurant liquor licenses at four central Phoenix locations. But Phoenix Police Det. Eric Breindl told council members that based on state law, Starbucks is no restaurant. He said there’s no cook, no chef, no wait staff

"Instead, existing baristas will merely unwrap prepackaged food items and re-heat if necessary using only two convection microwave ovens," Breindl said.

A representative for Starbucks said they are in the restaurant business and told council members Starbucks has been selling food since it launched 40 years ago.

But, it’s another 40 that Breindl pointed out — the 40 percent of gross revenue that must come from food sales to meet the license requirements. He said Starbucks won’t meet that requirement, but it didn’t matter much to council members, including Thelda Williams.


"If you go into a Starbucks in the afternoon, evening, you see young people sitting in there doing homework, working on computers, snacking. And, a glass of wine is not going to kill anybody," Williams said.

She also said having customers inside and seated may eliminate some neighborhood concerns.

Phoenix leaders have now joined Tempe and Scottsdale in approving the applications. Starbucks must now make its case to the Arizona Liquor Board, which has the final say.

The Phoenix locations where Starbucks wants liquor licenses:
1641 E Camelback Rd
650 E Osborn Rd
2802 E. Indian School Rd
455 N. 3rd St., Suite 100