Spangles restaurants have something new to celebrate this TGIF

TGIF lunches just got a little happier because as of Friday, Spangles finally will be able to sell its new 99-cent margaritas and screwdrivers at all of its Wichita-area restaurants.

“We’ve been just patiently waiting,” says spokeswoman Rene Steven.

In early November, the chain started selling the drinks at its restaurant near 21st and Woodlawn as a test.

“We thought it was very successful,” Steven says.

The idea is to draw more visitors in the afternoons and evenings and be better able to compete with the ever-increasing number of fast-casual competitors that serve alcohol.

In addition to the 99-cent drinks, Spangles also has added what Steven calls “a massive mug” that’s $2.99 for 35 ounces. Extra shots are 99 cents each.

Steven says the drink menu could expand one day but only after the chain has successfully mastered serving these drinks first.

“It needs to be quick and easy from an operations standpoint,” she says. “It still needs to be fast.”

In addition to the 21st and Woodlawn Spangles, the other Wichita-area Spangles sites should be ready to begin serving the drinks by 11 a.m. on Friday. It may take a little longer to hand-deliver the licenses to the Spangles restaurants in Topeka and Emporia. There are 27 Spangles restaurants in all.

Steven says a lot of people still can’t believe the chain is serving margaritas and screwdrivers.

“A lot of people are in shock.”

The question she gets most regularly, Steven says, is whether the drinks are available in the drive-throughs. They’re not.

“It’s always so funny,” she says. “I just kind of wait a second, and they kind of answer that question themselves.”

Still, for dine-in customers, Steven says the drinks are a positive thing.

“We kind of joke that people come in happy and leave happy.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 2:26 PM.