Hello,
I am in the process of purchasing a restaurant franchise. If everything works out, the restaurant will go into an existing bar/restaurant space. The bar will remain as a separate business as the bar owner is looking to get out of the food side of the business. Therefore, we will be sharing the space...essentially two separate businesses within one building. The left side of the building will be the food side and the right side of the building will be the bar side.
Here's my challenge: the franchisor is against alcohol sales and does not want the franchise in the business of selling alcohol. Technically, the restaurant side will not sell alcohol, but how do I handle a customer request such as, "I would like a hamburger, fries, and a beer." I don't want to inconvenince the customer and tell him that I can give him his food, but he will need to go to the "bar" side to order his beer.
One thought I had was to create a sign and have an arrow pointing to the left for "Food Only" and an arrow pointing to the right for "Alcohol & Food" Those customers going to the left would order and get their food (similar to a McDonald's or any other fast food setup). Those going to the right would have a waiter/bartender take their food and drink orders.
Do you think this would work? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!