BYOB in Dallas - Some Corrections

by Andrew Chalk

The D Magazine online blog Sidedish contains a recent article entitled Where Can You Still BYOB in Dallas? According to the piece, BYOB is a dying practice as something (not explained) has compelled restaurants to start alcoholic beverage programs. Apparently, at a time that wine consumption is falling. 

As evidence, they cite one data point. At least that was one more than most of the claims they make.

In the Dallas area, at least so far as wine is concerned, they are wrong. The number of BYOB establishments is increasing, reflecting the strong economy powering a growth in the number of restaurants. 

The Economics of BYOB

BYOB does not substitute for alcohol sales in a free market, it augments them through corkage revenue. The choice with BYOB is: buy ours, or pay corkage to bring your own. The famed New Orleans restaurant, Commander’s Palace, exemplifies this, charging chatGPT $40 a bottle corkage last time it dined there.  

The Easiest Places To BYOB In Dallas?

In Dallas, the place to BYOB most easily is Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai restaurants. Just go in and ask the typically friendly person who indicates where to sit that you have your own wine. Graciously ask “Is that OK?”  In about 100% of Vietnamese establishments the answer is a friendly affirmative (check this out in the Vietnam-town along Walnut Street in the northeast quadrant of Dallas). In Thai and Chinese restaurants, I would guess about 75% of restaurants are BYOB. Almost invariably, there is no corkage. If there is, and you have a large group (say 6 or more, each with their own wine), negotiate a flat fee. They usually agree. If you want wine glasses, bring your own. They will almost certainly not have any.

Family-run establishments catering to the ethnic group whose food they represent are the restaurants most likely to be BYOB. 

The D Magazine piece suggests alcohol is highly profitable. In fact, if sales don’t hit some level they are a loss. You have to hold inventory, manage the program, provide glassware, comply with legal regulations, and at least give the pretense of some level of wine knowledge to run a wine program. Many restaurants don’t want the expense. Offering BYOB makes them more attractive to customers who do want to drink wine with their meals. The typical Dallas wine enthusiast’s cellar is better than that of 95% of Dallas restaurants, so it is actually a real plus to BYOB and drink a good wine with the restaurant’s excellent food. 

Why Are Some Restaurants Not BYOB?

Aside from scale, there are two other reasons that BYOB is not more widespread in Dallas. 

First, the law. If a restaurant has a mixed-drinks license (i.e. serves hard liquor), the owner cannot allow customers to bring in their own wine. This is an outdated, prohibitionist, law that benefits nobody and should be abolished. I mentioned several Asian cuisines above. Korean was not included because Koreans like hard liquor, so most Korean restaurants have a mixed drinks license. They would likely love you to be able to bring your own wine, but the oppressive law takes the decision out of their hands. 

Law varies across jurisdictions. The City of Irving charges a fee to offer BYOB. Presumably at the behest of the wine and spirit wholesalers. This will diminish the choice of restaurants in Irving, to the community’s detriment.  

Second, the Dallas media (like D Magazine) do such a lousy job of providing restaurant information. Every review should include, as a standard item, the BYOB status and corkage. I have suggested this several times to publications, and it just falls on deaf ears. They don’t consider wine important to them and can’t conceive why it would be important to their readers. That also explains why their coverage of wine in restaurants that do serve it is so pathetic.