Who knew that you could legally carry around a drink inside a mall and shop? This brings a whole new extension to brunch or spending too much money on buzzed shopping.
The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano is not your average shopping mall. It’s been known for years as having a convenient Apple Store but now may be known for sipping and shopping. The mall recently built a new courtyard that cost over $125 million.
As part of that remodel, Ascension coffee shop inside the mall is selling beer and wine as of the first week in January. Ascension is one of Dallas’ fastest-growing coffee companies right now. Not does it offer a bold selection of coffee it will also offer beer and wine to mall customers.
Beer and wine will be sold at Ascension Annex (a freestanding beverage counter). The stand is located inside the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, near the new Knife restaurant and the Apple store. The Knife restaurant looks to have some amazing food by the way! The Annex is located between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s.
When you head over to the Ascension counter you can pick a beer (Miller Lite, Shiner Bock or Stella Artois) or a glass of wine (prosecco, rose, pinot grigio, pinot noir, malbec and more). Beer costs $4 to $5 and wine costs $7 to $11. Anyone drinking will get a wristband and will have to wear it while imbibing inside the Shops at Willow Bend. It will be poured into an Ascension cup; no glass bottles are allowed.
You can go almost anywhere inside the Willow Bend mall with your beverages including the Apple store, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s, Crate & Barrel and more. Stores reserve the right to change their policy, a spokeswoman says.
Mall patrons can’t take alcohol into the Crayola Experience. Sorry, parents. And, patrons cannot walk into or out of restaurants that already sell beer or wine. You also cannot leave the mall with alcoholic beverages just like any other establishment when driving home.
Ascension Annex has a wine and beer on-premise permit, and under Texas law, that means they can sell alcohol on site and to go. There’s no TABC requirement which would disallow a guest from consuming the beverage on private property (in this case, the mall), after removing the beverage from the licensed premises confirms a TABC spokesman.
You can also sip on wine at Whole Foods grocery stores in DFW. Who knew?
Another think to know is that you CAN drink on Sundays. Sunday hours for selling alcohol from Ascension Annex are noon to 6 p.m. The other six days a week, beer and wine will be sold from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Ascension plans to expand this concept if it gains popularity. Just be careful not to spill your wine on expensive clothes or damage goods inside the Apple store.
Our thoughts is that it would also be fun to go surfing at that skate store with the wave machine while drinking… or maybe that would be dangerous. Have fun doing the sip and shop!
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