Hot Topic (12/24): Should it be legal to buy coffee from a "bikini-barista"?
That's the question at hand in Everett, Wash., where a new law meant to curb the "bikini-barista" phenomenon forces coffee houses to get adult entertainment licenses if their coffee servers don't fully cover their backsides and the bottom half of their breasts while whipping up the daily Joe.
Say what?
Yes, in Washington State, drive-thru bikini barista bars have become wildly popular and as the competition has heated up, the antics have as well.
In September, five women, employed by Grab-N-Go Espresso in Everett, Wash., were charged with prostitution because they reportedly charged customers up to $80 to watch them strip. Police detectives told CBS affiliate KIRO they witnessed women licking whipped cream off of each other and posing nude for photos.
In early October, a barista at Bikini Bottom Espresso, Megan Lenn, was charged with indecent exposure for wearing nothing but pieces of black tape to cover her nipples.
Now, regulators in one Washington county are setting to put a stop to it.
On Dec. 16, the Snohomish County Council voted unanimously to regulate coffee stands featuring nearly nude baristas as they would any other adult entertainment establishment.
The new rules only apply to areas within the county that are outside city limits. They don’t ban bikinis or even bikini-clad baristas. Instead, the regulations kick in when baristas wear thongs, pasties or other attire in public that don’t fully cover rear ends or the bottom half of breasts, in which case those businesses have to be licensed and regulated as adult entertainment.
The new rules also don’t allow businesses to display signs with sexually explicit messages.
The council also tightened the county’s lewd conduct law Wednesday, adding tougher penalties and more clearly spelling out when a person is guilty of lewd conduct. It also holds the business owner accountable for allowing lewd conduct.
Taken together, Councilman Mike Cooper told The Daily Herald, the changes should protect owners’ rights to run a responsible adult business and the rights of people living nearby who don’t want their children spotting baristas wearing pasties and thongs.
"I’m pleased we’re going to be the leader, not the follower, in dealing with adult coffee stands," Cooper said.
At least one bikini barista stand owner said he’d go along with the law by requiring his baristas to wear more clothing rather than licensing the stands as adult businesses.
“We were in the process of doing away with pasties anyway,” said Bill Wheeler, owner of Grab-n-Go Espresso said.
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Would you purchase coffee from a drive-thru stand featuring scantily-clad women?
Would you want your partner or children to view bikini baristas?
What do you think about these baristas? Should these stands be licensed as adult businesses?
I live in WA and this is a huge issue here. The majority of the people want them banned. They have windows that everyone can see through, you drive up to get your coffee and your kids can see these women. At first I think they were just a novelty and the women wore more clothes. But it has gotten out of hand, they are wearing things that are more and more skimpy and yes prostitution is becoming a problem in these places as well as drugs.
No I would not want my children to be around these places and I would be upset if my spouse went to one. I would never go to one period. And I think they should be in the same class as adult entertainment at this point. If they are going to wear something that barely covers them and strip for money, it belongs in a strip club, not in a drive through coffee stand.
I live in Washington state and I hate this trend. Most of the stands now have names that make it clear that you are going to drive up to a peep shoe but there are still many stands that have very benign names and it isn't until you are at the window your children that you realize the woman handing out your coffee is in pasties and panties that show the bottom half of her backside.
The deputy mayor of Bellevue (which is South of Everett) has threatened to take pictures of the coffee patrons and post their pictures on the city's website.
Although I do have to wonder about the safety issue with these girls working around hot coffee and steam, I don't think they should be illegal. Personally, I would like them to have to being licensed as adult entertainment as it would limit where the stands can be placed. I don't think they belong next to schools and parks.
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Would you purchase coffee from a drive-thru stand featuring scantily-clad women?
Yep, why the hell not? lol - I go to Hooters all the time, even with the kids.
Would you want your partner or children to view bikini baristas?
Yep, again I frequent Hooters with my kids and dh
What do you think about these baristas? Should these stands be licensed as adult businesses?
No - that would be stupid. I am European, lol - topless sunbathing is considered normal, kids are raised much differently than in other countries. They are raised that this is normal and not taboo.
LOL
Quoting gsmom9:
im just trying to figure out the hairnets
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