Wine on My Weekly Target Run? Yes, Please!

Target (my go-to store for everything from Ajax to Ziploc) might soon be serving up cold beers while customers shop for soap and printer paper. Best. Idea. Ever.

“Target is rumored to be opening its first store with a bar in it. Dreams do come true,” writes Maria Guido at ScaryMommy.com.  “Everyone’s favorite paycheck-suck developed a new concept for city stores last summer. A quicker shopping experience, cafe-style food and a bar? Oh please let this concept work and spread.”

I’m with Maria on this one. Although the specific Target that applied for a liquor license is in Chicago, I can only hope the chain decides to pop the cork in the Sunshine State, too.

In a recent post, I wrote how I’ve reached the (pathetic) point in life where my Target runs qualify as “shopping” these days. Gone are the days when I spent leisurely hours trolling my favorite bookstores and clothing stores just for fun.  Once I became a busy mom, “shopping” now means a quick dash to Target for toothpaste and tissues. As Maria points out, though, a trip to Target is often the only alone time a mom or dad might get, seeking solace in the sock aisle as a way to escape the insanity that is sometimes parenthood.

But with Target’s in-store alcohol, I would almost look forward to running out of napkins and light bulbs just so I could whisk away to Target alone, pick up a glass of pinot noir and cruise the housewares section for an hour or two.

Of course, my budget might take a bit of a hit. As it is now, I already walk into Target armed with the intent to buy just one bottle of shampoo but end up leaving with a year’s supply of paper towels, a bag of potting soil and other “must-haves” that quickly rack up a $100 total. (Damn Nate Berkus and his cool home décor collection!) Add alcohol to the mix and things might get ugly real quick.

But still, with a glass of wine in hand, I’d be way more tolerant of check-out lines 10-deep with chatty customers, errant toddlers darting around me like a maypole, and clueless shoppers who can’t navigate their cart because their mega-rolls of toilet paper block their view.

And just imagine how pleasant it would be if Target ran a Happy Hour during those frenzied “Back-to-School” sales, doling out frothy beers to frantic moms and dads scavenging the aisles searching for that elusive purple folder with three prongs for their kids’ school supply lists. Or imagine the calm that might wash over those fanatical Black Friday shoppers if they could sip a mimosa while vying for a door-buster at 6 a.m. (“After you.” “No, please, after you. You were here first.”)

C’mon, Target, let the shopping buzz begin!