“There is no better way to make a meal like that even more delicious than with a glass of wine,” she says. “The pairings are the same as they would be with fancy food.”

Jeff Harvey, president and CEO of 39-unit Burgerville, says the decision to experiment with beer and wine in its Salmon Creek test location in Vancouver, Washington, is less about adding profits from the drinks and more about enhancing the chain’s food. Coming on the heels of an expanded seasonal gourmet-offerings menu, wine service at the Salmon Creek store is all about the pairings. The chain worked with a sommelier to choose alcohol offerings that complement its food and fit with its local, sustainable ethos. The staff was trained on pairings, and cards offer simple descriptions of the wines and suggest menu matches.

After a three- to six-month testing period, which began in May, beer and wine service could be expanded to other Burgerville locations, but Harvey is quick to stress that alcohol is not likely to become available systemwide.

“It just won’t work in some restaurants,” he says.

Likewise, wine service won’t work for every chain, says Janeen Olsen, professor of wine marketing at Sonoma State University.

“I think you really have to know who your customer is and whether you have a match with who is drinking wine,” she says.

Despite the rising rate of per capita wine consumption, it’s still more popular on the East and West coasts and in urban areas, Olsen says, and wine drinkers tend to have higher incomes and better education than the general population. Research also shows that the drink is associated with relaxation and socialization, so a quick-serve with high customer turnover might not be a great fit for wine service.

While Weinstein says alcohol accounts for about 10 percent of sales at The Counter and Cowling hopes O’Brothers will eventually see alcohol bring in 25 to 30 percent of sales, Lazar says wine adds only about 4 to 8 percent of sales at Pizza Fusion. Most quick-serves, says Technomic’s David Henkes, should realistically expect only 1 to 3 percent of sales to come from alcohol, and beer is still more popular than wine.

Moreover, offering alcohol of any kind creates a number of hassles and headaches, not the least of which is the initial step of acquiring the proper license. The process and fees vary greatly from state to state and even city to city, but a restaurant seeking to serve wine typically doesn’t have to obtain a full liquor license. In most cases, a limited beer and wine license will do. To obtain one, the business has to file an application with the state, pay a fee that can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, and then wait—usually about three months. The restaurant will also have to comply with an inspection, zoning laws, and background checks. Neighbors, too, will have to be notified and offered the opportunity to comment. As Burgerville found out, some of them might not be happy. The state liquor control board received two letters from people opposing the Salmon Creek location’s liquor license, and Harvey says the chain, too, heard some negative feedback.

“The majority response was excitement, but there are those who haven’t been as warm to the idea,” he says.

There’s no guarantee a license will be awarded. In some states, such as New Jersey, where the full-version is required, liquor licenses are notoriously difficult and expensive to come by. A $400,000 price tag prohibited the Pizza Fusion location in Ridgewood, New Jersey, from getting one, and the restaurant remains the only one in the chain that doesn’t serve alcohol.

“It was a difficult pill to swallow at first,” Lazar says. “In a restaurant of that size, that would have been around 8 percent of sales we could have added to their top line.”

Even if a restaurant does get a license, there are liquor laws to comply with and liability to consider. Those that serve alcohol of any kind are likely to see higher insurance premiums. On-premise alcohol can also affect hiring, as servers must be at least 18 years of age and in some cases obtain special handling licenses.