Whole Foods Legally Sells Wine in Groceries

Whole Foods quietly rolled out wine and high alc beer at its new location in Franklin on McEwen Drive. Working within existing Tennessee laws, Whole Foods offers select wine and high alc beers at its restaurant 1799 & Vine, located inside the grocery store. The CityPaper has more.

Whole Foods has worked with our liquor team since coming to the state a few years ago. For construction of the Franklin store, we helped the grocer build a store that legally allows the sale of wine - without changing existing laws.

Essentially, Whole Foods Franklin has a separate restaurant inside the grocery. Like restaurants, it sells food. It also sells beer, wine and high alc beer with meals. During the construction of the store, we worked closely with ABC officials to ensure that the store would qualify for a restaurant license, once built. Whole Foods management has patiently worked to ensure compliance with arcane Tennessee liquor laws.

The concept of selling wine at a grocery store is very controversial. Whole Foods has respected the laws and been an exemplary model for playing within the existing rules.