Bikini Baristas Guilty of the "P" Word? "Sexpresso" Shop Workers Charged with Prostitution
Photo: Bikini Barista: Stephanie Gibbons, 20, works at the Smokin' Hot Espresso in Tacoma, Wash. She is not among those charged.
PICTURES: Bikini Barista Controversy
In images so graphic that officials were reluctant to release them under public disclosure requests, undercover officers photographed them spreading their legs while wearing crotchless panties or licking whipped cream off each other's exposed pubic regions. While such acts may not constitute traditional prostitution, authorities say they met the legal definition of engaging in sexual conduct for a fee.
Photo: Bikini Baristas Randi Damery, 29, left, and Kaylee McKinlay, 18, prepare coffee at Peek-A-Brew in Bonney Lake, Wash. They are not among those charged.
PICTURES: Bikini Barista Controversy
The five face court dates on prostitution charges this month.
Coffee shops in the Seattle area introduced the world to bikini baristas three years ago, hiring attractive young women to serve up steamy espressos and lattes while wearing as little as a G-string and pasties.
Photo: Barista at a Grab-N-Go Bikini Hut espresso stand holds money as she waves to a customer. She is not charged.
PICTURES: Bikini Barista Controversy
But cities are now taking a closer look at the "sexpresso" stand craze after police investigations revealed that some baristas were serving coffee with a side of something not even legal at many strip clubs.
"This is not Malibu Barbie standing at a coffee stand selling coffee," said City of Everett spokeswoman Kate Reardon. "We had citations for prostitution. That's totally different."
The bikini barista trend emerged in recent years as some espresso stands sought to stand out amid the heavy competition for coffee business in a region that is home to Starbucks. There are now dozens of such shops in the region, with names like Brewlesque, Twin Perks and Java Juggs. They're typically stand-alone shacks along roadsides or in parking lots, often noticeable for their come-hither signs — "some like it hot," for example — and a long line of pick-up trucks at the window.
The bikini shops have always stirred up controversy, with some cities threatening to shut them down unless their employees covered up. But communities have changed their laws in recent months in response to growing complaints that the bikini baristas aren't actually wearing bikinis anymore.
Snohomish County north of Seattle last month began requiring coffee stand employees to wear at least the equivalent of a bikini or face regulation under adult entertainment ordinances. That would mean tougher zoning restrictions and rules requiring customers to all be adults.
The city of Lynnwood has updated its laws to require employees to wear more than pasties and a G-string, and Yakima in central Washington directed its city attorney to draft similar laws. Everett still allows pasties, but has clarified that drive-through businesses are public places, where the caressing or fondling of the genitals or breasts is considered lewd conduct and can be prosecuted.
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PICTURES: Bikini Barista Controversy
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