A Winnetka businessman believes he is the first restaurateur in the Chicago area to import an upscale concept from the East and West coasts: self-service wine dispensing machines.
Patrons put money on a special debit card, visit Trifecta Grill's bank of seven machines, each holding four different wines. No need to catch a waiter's attention. There are descriptions of all 28 types of vino, and customers can choose a full glass, a half glass or a taste.
It's not Thunderbird or Boone's Farm, either. The most expensive is a Pio Cesare Barolo 2007, from Piedmont, Italy. A full glass costs $29.
"I thought it wasn't going to work, that nobody's going to pay $29 for a glass of wine. And these are our most popular wines," said Patrick O'Neil, owner of Trifecta Grill, 501 Chestnut Ave., his third Winnetka restaurant, which opened in March.
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