Whopper, Fries and a Beer
In an attempt to boost sales and enter the casual sit down dining niche, Burger King will try and harness the twenty-something drinking crowd by opening what it calls “The Whopper Bar” in Miami Beach, Florida in mid-February. “Burger King is trying to grow up with its customers and remain relevant when they reach drinking age,” said restaurant consultant Linda Lipsky.
Translation: restaurants report huge losses in November same-store sales compared with a year earlier with declines happening for the 18th-consecutive month.
Customers can purchase a Whopper with either Anheuser-Busch or MillerCoors brews and fries combo for $7.99, or $4.25 for a brew alone. Burger King’s South Beach Whopper Bar joins a Seattle Starbucks in selling beer, although Starbucks also offers wine. Burger King already has beer selling Whopper Bars in Germany, Singapore and Venezuela.
By trying to wedge into the fast-casual dining arena with Whopper Bar, Burger King is chasing the 30-and-under crowd, which is the industry’s future growth, says Bradford Hudson, marketing professor at Boston University.