Bottoms Up might be going down: Residents express outrage over proposed California coffee shop where bikini-clad staff would attract the ‘wrong kind of clients’
- Residents are outraged by the possible opening of a location of the provocative Californian coffee chain Bottoms Up, where staff dressed in bikinis serve
- Christina Vargas, a local resident against the kiosk, called the cafe a “perv magnet”
- Chief among those complaining was Lynn Barlow, owner of the Sunshine Friends Learning Center, which is just 20 meters from the site.
Residents are outraged by the possible opening of a location of the provocative Californian coffee chain Bottoms Up, which serves staff dressed in bikinis.
The chain, which started in Modesto in 2011, has long courted controversy with their so-called “Bikini Baristas.”
At a city council meeting in Hanford — where Bottoms Up’s website has promoted a new location to open soon — local residents expressed concerns about who the chain would attract.
Christina Vargas, a local resident at the newsstand, called the cafe a “perv magnet.”
“My family and I don’t want a perverted magnet in our city, let alone our neighborhood,” she said. “It is a danger to our neighborhood and harmful to the citizens and families of Hanford.”
Residents are outraged by the possible opening of a location of the provocative Californian coffee chain Bottoms Up, where staff dressed in bikinis serve
The chain, which started in Modesto in 2011, has long courted controversy with their so-called ‘Bikini Baristas’
Vargas also stated that he believed that some customers who visit Bottoms Up would not normally be welcome in the area The SJV sun.
Chief among those complaining was Lynn Barlow, owner of the Sunshine Friends Learning Center for preschool, which was located just 20 yards from the Bottoms Up kiosk.
“Bottoms Up doesn’t just sell coffee,” says Barlow. ‘Sexual influence, together with the need for companionship, will attract a certain number of customers who are restless and dangerous to children.’
She feared the state could revoke her permit if the proposed location were to open.
Another unnamed business owner added that she would also likely have to move or lose her store.
“As a business owner, as a local resident and as a mother, this feels like a slap in the face, allowing something so inappropriate to happen in this area, without regard for the businesses that have been serving the community for years, and doing our best to keep it that way keep “a safe place for families and children to enjoy,” she said.
“Simply put, keep this waste away from us, our children and our community,” she added.
The permit application still needs to be reviewed by the City Council, and City Attorney Ty Mizote said he has told the landlord that if Bottoms Up violates city laws, they will get a court order to close it down.
At a city council meeting in Hanford — where the Bottoms Up website has promoted a new location to open soon — local residents expressed concerns about who the chain would attract
A local resident opposed to the kiosk called the cafe a “perv magnet” and argued it would attract sex criminals
The permit application still needs to be reviewed by the City Council, and City Attorney Ty Mizote said he has told the landlord that if Bottoms Up violates city laws, they will get a court order to close it down.
In 2011, Bottoms Up Espresso opened its first location in Modesto, California and now has a number of franchises in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The company’s website claimed it opened its second store within the first year due to changes to a classic ‘bikini barista’ model.
In his ‘About us’ section it says: ‘Customized high-quality drinks, creative names and sexy baristas form our unique concept.
‘Yet our focus is mainly on customer service. Our baristas are trained to interact with customers while creating delicious drinks unique to the company.”