Lyndon City Line Diner doesn't serve wine or beer.

But the Macaroni Grill does. So does the Olive Garden. So does the Outback Steakhouse and Carrabbas Italian Grill.

Diner owner Lyndon Quinn worries that he is losing his customers who want a glass of chardonnay with their chicken or maybe some merlot with their spaghetti to nearby chains and other restaurants. He hopes to be able to do so by spring.

So he is applying for a liquor license for his Manheim Pike restaurant. Monday, the Manheim Township commissioners approved a license transfer from a city restaurant.

Quinn is following in the steps of several other local family-oriented restaurants, including Isaac's downtown restaurant and Miller's Smorgasbord, that are moving toward or have started offering liquor and beer to their customers.

"The competition obviously is very, very fierce," Quinn said today.

Glenn Lapp, owner of Good 'N Plenty Restaurant and president of the Lancaster Chapter of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, said, "In today's market, there are more and more chains coming into the area. Normally, they serve alcohol. It's an individual thing whether you need that to compete."

Family dining is changing today, restaurant owners say.

"I think with wine consumption in this country, how the country looks at wine, is very different than it was 25 years ago," says Al Duncan, chief executive officer of the company that owns Miller's Smorgasbord and Plain & Fancy Farm Restaurant, which both cater to tourists.

People more commonly have a glass of wine with dinner, at home and when dining out, Duncan said.

In the fall of 2006, Miller's began serving alcohol. Plain & Fancy likely will introduce limited wine and beer service this spring, Duncan said.

In the past, Miller's customers often were surprised when they could not order a glass of wine or beer with their meals, Duncan said.

"They routinely would ask if they could see a wine list or what kind of beer we had on tap and we'd say, 'We don't have that.' They'd say, 'What?'

"They were just amazed it doesn't exist. There's very few places you go where it's not on the menu."

While only a minority of Miller's customers — fewer than 20 percent — order an alcoholic beverage, Duncan said people want the option.

"Our whole philosophy is you need to offer what the customer wants," he said.

Last week, the head of Isaac's Restaurant & Deli said its downtown restaurant would start to offer alcoholic beverages this spring.

As with Lyndon City Line Diner, competition was the motivation.

Phil Wenger, Isaac's chairman, said he hopes the move will boost evening business at the North Queen Street restaurant, which loses customers to other establishments that offer liquor and beer.

Quinn said his customers also want the option of ordering a drink with dinner. He said he will have only a service bar to provide drinks for customers ordering meals, not a sit-down bar where customers can order just drinks.

"When you're a small businessman fighting megachains like I am ... you would call it taking care of your business," he said.

"I think it's a logical fit," he said. "It's the way people eat."

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