Starbucks Alcohol: Schaumburg Cafe Chicago Area's First Starbucks To Serve Wine, Beer

Would you like that glass of merlot grande or venti?

The first of five Starbucks in the Chicago area slated to try out the coffee giant's new "Evenings" menu on Friday served up its first glasses of wine and beer.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Starbucks at the Streets of Woodfield, located at 601 N Martingale Rd. in Schaumburg, on Friday became the chain's first cafe to serve alcohol outside of the Pacific Northwest.

The new menu options will be available beginning at 4 p.m. daily at the Schaumburg store alongside a selection of small plates like almonds and bread with olive oil dip and hot flatbreads, according to NBC Chicago.

Soon, Schaumburg won't be the lone Chicago-area 'Bucks with boozy offerings: The Starbucks in Burr Ridge's Village Center is expected to begin serving up the "evening" menu options in mid-July, Patch reports.

Late last year, Starbucks announced that a handful of its Chicago-area cafes would be expanding their menus to offer the alcoholic beverages and new food items by the end of 2012. The chain is also rolling out the new menu options, which debuted in Seattle in October 2010, in Atlanta and Southern California.

Starbucks spokesman Alan Hilowitz previously explained to the Seattle Times that the new menu was "something our customers have really been responding to" at cafes already offering it.

"They want to sit and relax, and maybe one person wants to have coffee and the other wants beer or wine," Hilowitz said. "People also can go out after work without having to go to a bar, and people who are underage can go and have a cup of coffee instead."

The only question remains is how Chicago-area customers will respond to the new menu.