Striptease With Your Latte, Sir?
Posted by: Amelia McDonell-Parry
Filed in:
news
10:20AM, Friday September 25th 2009
I worked at a coffee shop in college. Sometimes I would throw in a free cookie to go along with a cup o’ joe for my favorite customers and they would return the favor by tipping extra. But apparently I missed out on a much bigger opportunity! At a coffee shop in Everett, Washington, the baristas were frothing more than just milk—police have arrested five female workers for operating a prostitution ring out of the cafe. They would charge customers as much as $80 to flash their breasts, lick whipped cream off each other’s body parts, and pose for nudie pics. Also!
Detectives say the women also charged customers to play “basketball”—a game in which customers were allowed to throw waded up money at the women, who caught the money in their underpants. [Everett Daily Herald]
OK, so I get that this is wrong and all, but it’s not like they were offering sex or blow jobs with the lattes, right? Next time steal from the register, ladies! [via Gawker]
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_jsw_
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 09:48 am: [report]
Let me get this straight… they charged the customers to throw money at them.
The customers had to pay money. To throw money.
Either those girls were just outrageously hot, or the entire male population of Everett has Turkey Waddle Syndrome like the guys in the previous bra-ista story from there and they’ll take what they can get.
effing hickster
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 09:48 am: [report]
May I point out that the owner did not know this was going on. The ladies in question were operating on their own, and he stated that anyone guilty of these acts will be fired. It’s violating many articles of the food sanitation code, and any legitimate business owner would be freaking out if they knew this was going on.
_jsw_
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 09:56 am: [report]
I read the follow-up article, which I think e.h. referenced, and I agree that it sounds like the owner didn’t know it was going on - and it sounds like there’s a good chance the charges are trumped up anyway.
Still, I might need to fly out there to investigate anyway.
GreenAura
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:13 am: [report]
Why didn’t these girls just go and work at a strip club? They would have made more money that way AND they wouldn’t have had to make coffee. Win - win!
_jsw_
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:17 am: [report]
@GreenAura: Sadly, all the local strip clubs have been put out of business by the coffee shops, so there was nowhere else for them to go.
bumbler
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:18 am: [report]
Another article I read said they were bikini baristas. Why would anyone be surprised that a business model that profited off of objectifying young women ended up with the young women deciding to get a piece of the action on the side? I’m not condoning what they did (grosses me out in the same way that all-nude cafes do, just not somewhere I’d choose to eat) but it does seem to be something of a duh situation. You base the success of your business not on making the best product but on sexing-it-up and surprise surprise seedier aspects of the sex industry follow.
effing hickster
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:21 am: [report]
@GreenAura: Having known a former dancer in casual circles, the competition is rather fierce in strip clubs. In this economy, I think it would be even worse. Plus, you don’t have to give greasy, smelly guys lap dances in the drive-thru.
GreenAura
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:22 am: [report]
@ _jsw_: “the local strip clubs have been put out of business by the coffee shops”. WOW, America really is changing. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me that all the brothels in Northern Nevada were replaced by vegan cafes.
retro chic
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:36 am: [report]
Isn’t this like the metro upgrade to that diner story with the topless burger servers and also got shut down a while back? They couldn’t afford the ongoing legal fees to keep it open even tho it was a very popular hang out and money maker for them. God bless’em for trying, but unless there’s a men-u for the ladies, I think lattés are expensive enough. Plus, *absolutely* this story’s owner knew about it! Really now…
stephoney22
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:39 am: [report]
I’m glad the city and citizens are focusing on what is lawful and what is not because the law should be followed and those who break it deserve the punishment. BUT my personal opinion is that prostitution or not, I think this business idea is disgusting and pathetic. Prancing around in a “business” in a bikini can and will be detrimental to relationships. And I ain’t no Sarah Palin, I just have standards of what is professional. And to clarify, strip clubs are a different conversation because the business model is, well, obvious.
GreenAura
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:44 am: [report]
@ stephoney22: “Prancing around in a “business” in a bikini can and will be detrimental to relationships” <—- Only if your man has no control, in which case, maybe you shouldn’t be with him anyway. Just sayin’.
lea322
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 10:57 am: [report]
Maybe I’m just too practical, but one of my biggest issues with the bikini cafes and topless diners is SAFETY. I’ve worked at coffee shops…there are HOT liquids in there that get spilled all over the place! And just the thought of being near a fryer with no top on makes me nervous.
lea322
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 11:37 am: [report]
And…Everett is in northern Washington, not California, Florida or Hawaii. I’ve lived near there, and let me tell you, it never really gets warm enough to wear JUST a bikini to work. Tropical themes are sort of out of place in a state where it rains for 8 months out of the year.
_jsw_
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 11:42 am: [report]
So I guess what you’re saying, lea322, is that the girls are not hot.
I’m cancelling my trip.
lea322
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 11:53 am: [report]
@_jsw_: Oh, I’m sure they are very attractive. But they’re wearing big coats to work and going to the tanning salon to keep that “summer” vibe going all year.
_jsw_
wrote on September 25 2009 @ 11:55 am: [report]
@lea322: It was just a terrible play on words, based on your description of how cool the location was. Forgive me.
CaleeKay
wrote on September 26 2009 @ 06:17 pm: [report]
Actually lea322, it is hot enough to wear just a bikini to work… approximately 2 out of 12 months. aha. i live near everett and i know exactly about all of this. I work at a clothed coffee shop and ive even had guys ask me to flash them for more tip money. I cant imagine how easy it was for those girls to simply do it for an extra 20 dollars. Getting paid minimum suckks so why not add on a little extra!
and jsw also, no, alot of them are NOT attractive. Ive seen this from experience. But what guy wont be fine with looking at an okay looking girl with giant boobs hanging out.
so sad. But im actually glad to see legal action happening here.
effing hickster
wrote on September 26 2009 @ 07:22 pm: [report]
I think the guy who runs the topless coffee shop up in Maine has the right idea by having both male and female topless staff. It may not be entirely equal, but it’s a start.
Maybe if the guys had to wear butt-exposing jeans?