Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,143,400 members, 7,781,156 topics. Date: Friday, 29 March 2024 at 10:01 AM

"Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. - Travel - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Travel / "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. (8620 Views)

How Do I Get An American Visa With Ease? / My Journey To Nigeria From An American Perspective / I Have An American Visa But Dont Need It.. Not Now (2) (3) (4)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (Reply) (Go Down)

"Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 7:35am On Jul 23, 2015
Bikini-clad baristas serve up coffee at several drive-through stands in Washington. Locals and city councils can't decide: Are they sex workers?

At 5:20 a.m., under a starless March sky, the arid Inland Northwest is cold—Canada cold. And save for four flimsy clapboard walls and a pair of sliding windows, a 20-year-old woman braves it in her underwear.

For early spring in Spokane Valley, Washington, Tammy is awfully tan. But that’s a part of her job as a bikini barista: Smile a lot. Remember who gets an Americano and who gets an Irish Cream mocha. And, of course, wear a bikini in the dead of winter before sunrise.

“Bikini” is an overstatement of what Tammy (whose name has been changed to protect her identity) wears to work. Today is Wednesday, and on Wednesdays at Devil’s Brew Coffee, “we wear pink,” she says, “like Mean Girls.” She’s wearing a bubblegum-pink halter-top bra with scalloped edges, and lacy magenta underwear that makes little effort to cover her buttcheeks. Wednesdays can be a little slow—after all, they’re when the dress code at Devil’s Brew is most conservative. Tuesdays and Thursdays are “topless,” which means she’ll wear pasties and a thong as she works. Then, the line of jacked-up trucks will be out to the street. (One Spokane stand staffed by shirtless men, Hot Cup of Joe, appears to have gone out of business not long after it opened.)

Tammy, who wears a thick white cheerleader ribbon around her brown ponytail, is the manager at Devil’s Brew. An ex-Washington State sorority girl who lives with her Mormon parents, she says her mom told her to get a job at the coffee stand when she moved back home. “One guy last week was like, ‘Does your mom know you wear these clothes?’” she says. “I was like, ‘My mom comes here every morning!’” That’s no joke: At exactly 8 a.m. on the day I'm there, her mom pulls up to the window. As she drives away, Tammy calls after her, “Love you, Mom!”

From the way Tammy and other bikini baristas have been in the firing line of local public officials, you’d think this was the first time anyone combined nearly nude women and food. But practically the same controversy continues to pop up in headlines across America: Girls want to serve coffee mostly naked, people want to buy it, someone wants to stop it. The stories are nearly identical, from Clovis, California, to Forest Grove, Oregon, to Aurora, Colorado.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/just-because-i-work-here-doesnt-mean-i-dont-respect-myself/389760/#disqus_thread

Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 7:37am On Jul 23, 2015
Buxom girls and fast food have been lumped together since topless servers started waiting on San Franciscans in the 60s, says historian Melinda Chateauvert, author of Sex Workers Unite! From the 1960s until the 90s, Playboy Clubs worldwide were staffed by cocktail waitresses spilling out of corsets and donning bunny ears. And Hooters, with its orange hot-pants and baskets of wings, has been around since 1983.

Those were two of the first “breastaurants” to rise to mainstream status, despite varying degrees of outrage in response. Chateauvert says that some backlash came from individual employees themselves, who sued their companies for making them wear suggestive uniforms that invited harassment. But it seems that fight has lost its teeth. A 2010 Jezebel article titled “Why Protesting Hooters Is a Waste of Women's Time” argued that while Hooters presents a “bro-y version of human sexuality,” it’s not worse than other forms of titillation. “I don’t like it … but I’m not ready to say it shouldn't exist,” the writer, Anna North, reasoned.

Today, the industry is thriving. The girls with flannel crop-tops and hiking boots who sling beers and fries at Twin Peaks helped the burger restaurant earn the title of “fastest growing chain in America” in 2013. There’s a version in every region: Michigan has the sexy “Celtic-themed” Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, and “Bypass Burgers” are served by minidress-wearing nurses at Las Vegas’s Heart Attack Grill.

“At Hooters, you can sit there all night long and drink and watch the girls,” Chateauvert says. “This is a very fast transaction.”And the outfits are different too: “Hooters's [are] quite opaque,” Chateauvert says. “It’s not anywhere near what we’re thinking in terms of a stripper costume … There’s a whole level of covering.”
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 7:38am On Jul 23, 2015
To Mike Fagan, a Spokane city councilman who just saw a voter-led initiative to restrict bikini baristas flop, Devil’s Brew’s model is too risqué not to regulate. But he says he’s taken heat for trying to impose a moral code on local businesses. Where do bikini baristas fall? If they’re not offensive, he wonders, why then are school-buses being rerouted so kids won’t see the coffee stands?

At the Devil’s Brew where Tammy works, women have to cover up 50 percent of their breasts, in accordance with Spokane Valley ordinance. But still, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Tammy and her coworkers are almost as naked as the girls rolling on the stage at the Deja Vu Showgirls strip club a few miles down the same street. That’s when things get dicey for Fagan

“In my mind we’re talking adult entertainment,” Fagan says. “We don’t want to shut down the stands. We want to say, ‘Look, you either put the bikinis back on, or you move your business to an appropriately zoned area.’”

Appropriately zoned?

“Triple X dancing,” he says. “Triple X stores.”

At Devil’s Brew on a cold Wednesday, Tammy slides the window open and closed. “Good morning!” she peeps. “Are you having your usual?” From the time the window slides open to the time the car pulls away, fewer than three minutes elapse. It’s like a really friendly drive-through peep show.
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 8:25am On Jul 23, 2015
when are they coming to naija

Free the nip-ples

cc

crackhaus Timbuktou edwife damiso tearoses MizMyColi Nonso23 Kimoni
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 8:47am On Jul 23, 2015
^^
Longest time, Sir cool
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by MizMyColi(f): 10:46am On Jul 23, 2015
Pickabeau1
This your advocacy sef.
If they come, na you go run o.
I'm not sure you'd wanna go neartongue
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by damiso(f): 11:23am On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:
when are they coming to naija
Free the nip-ples
cc
crackhaus Timbuktou edwife damiso tearoses MizMyColi Nonso23 Kimoni
grin grin grin

Pickabeau wetin you wan take am do for naija naa.
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 11:45am On Jul 23, 2015
MizMyColi:

This your advocacy sef.
If they come, na you go run o.
I'm not sure you'd wanna go neartongue

Its one of the fundamental aspects of feminism
I support it lipsrsealed

damiso:
grin grin grin
Pickabeau wetin you wan take am do for naija naa.

Useful as eye candy
I will have my morning coffee, afternoon coffee even evening
All join
grin grin

1 Like

Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 11:46am On Jul 23, 2015
CFCfan:
^^
Longest time, Sir cool

Hey bro
How you doing...

Hows the practice treating you

I hope law is making a comeback after the news of bloat a while back
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 11:56am On Jul 23, 2015
Oga Pickabeau1, I done begin suspect you o. You no want make I chop again? How can one eat with such distractions out and about? Or I could just go after leaving Iya Basira, so that the food can digest properly. grin
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 12:02pm On Jul 23, 2015
Timbuktou:
Oga Pickabeau1, I done begin suspect you o. You no want make I chop again? How can one eat with such distractions out and about?

That's why its called eye candy

To take your mind off the daily routine


These guys are making money

Theres even another one Twin Peaks

[img]http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2014-09-24/etc_opener40__01__970-630x420.jpg[/img]

Before each shift at Twin Peaks, a Hooters-like restaurant with 57 locations across the U.S., managers line up waitresses and grade them on their looks. The women get points for hair, makeup, slenderness, and the cleanliness of their uniforms: fur-lined boots, khaki hot pants, and skimpy plaid tops that accentuate their cleavage. Their job, between serving sports-bar fare with names such as “well-built sandwiches” and “smokin’ hot dishes,” is to beguile the mostly male customers, flirting to get them to empty their wallets. They may also have to fend off patrons who’ve washed down too many of the house beers, including the Dirty Blonde or the Knotty Brunette

Last year, there were 360 Hooters in the U.S., generating $828 million in sales, according to data from Technomic, a food industry consultant. But what was salacious three decades ago has now become family-friendly; it’s not unusual to see children at Hooters, doodling in coloring books. And compared with the clothes at some popular teen retailers, Hooters’s white tank tops and orange shorts seem almost demure. Last year, sales at the chain were virtually flat.

That’s created opportunities for smaller competitors willing to exhibit more of the female anatomy. The largest, Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, a Tempe (Ariz.)-based chain founded in 2003, did $196 million in sales last year. Tilted Kilt has 91 restaurants across the country. Its waitresses labor in what might be described as provocative Celtic garb. “Our costumes are a short kilt and halter top and a swimsuit-type bra that goes underneath that halter-type top,” explains Ron Lynch, Tilted Kilt’s CEO. The house specialty is the Big Arse Burger.


The average Twin Peaks generates $3.6 million a year—$1 million more than the typical Tilted Kilt or Hooters. DeWitt attributes this to his menu, which is a little more ambitious than those of his rivals. Twin Peaks makes its food from scratch and serves beer at near-freezing temperatures, he says. “If you can deliver a beer in August with ice crystals on it every single time, that’s something special.”


http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-09-25/inside-twin-peaks-americas-fastest-growing-restaurant-chain
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by MizMyColi(f): 12:53pm On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:


Its one of the fundamental aspects of feminism
I support it lipsrsealed

This is news
Since when did you start supporting feminism?
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 1:10pm On Jul 23, 2015
MizMyColi:


This is news
Since when did you start supporting feminism?

Since the train has moved and we cant stop it

It now means initiatives like the following ...

Free the Nip-ples
Equality of promiscuity
Female spreading

1 Like

Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by MizMyColi(f): 1:12pm On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:


Since the train has moved and we cant stop it

It now means initiatives like the following ...

Free the Nip-ples
Equality of promiscuity
Female spreading

None of this sounds sensible.
They are absurd.
I'd rather I continued living in the past, no offence.
Good luck with your feminismembarassed
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 1:17pm On Jul 23, 2015
sensi - wetin

Are u feigning ignorance that you don't know what modern feminism is all about?
MizMyColi:


None of this sounds sensible.
They are absurd.
I'd rather I continued living in the past, no offence.
Good luck with your feminismembarassed
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by MizMyColi(f): 1:19pm On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:
sensi - wetin

Are u feigning ignorance that you don't know what modern feminism is all about?

There is a difference between Nairaland feminism, true feminism and modern feminism.
Which brand are you on about?grin
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 1:22pm On Jul 23, 2015
MizMyColi:


There is a difference between Nairaland feminism, true feminism and modern feminism.
Which brand are you on about?grin

Definitely not here

I am a member of the modern school

See https://www.nairaland.com/2332249/free-nip-ple-protest-eye-candy#34018037

Free the Nip-ple!
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by MizMyColi(f): 1:33pm On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:


Definitely not here

I am a member of the modern school

See https://www.nairaland.com/2332249/free-nip-ple-protest-eye-candy#34018037

Free the Nip-ple!

Dammit!
That's Crayy feminism.

Enjoy the nipplesgrin
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 1:37pm On Jul 23, 2015
MizMyColi:


Dammit!
That's Crayy feminism.

Enjoy the nipplesgrin

When will it come to naija

Also these kind of restaurant where they serve chiken nuggets/boneless etc

Let me suggest a name

Chick Sights - you see a chick serving you chicken lipsrsealed wink

I will have my chicken three times a day wink
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by MizMyColi(f): 1:54pm On Jul 23, 2015
gringringringrin
pickabeau1:


When will it come to naija

Also these kind of restaurant where they serve chiken nuggets/boneless etc

Let me suggest a name

Chick Sights - you see a chick serving you chicken lipsrsealed wink

I will have my chicken three times a day wink

I see you are actually making fun of modern feminists.
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 3:29pm On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:


Hey bro
How you doing...

Hows the practice treating you

I hope law is making a comeback after the news of bloat a while back
I'm glad the semester is almost over cheesy it's been a hectic ride, with an average of 10-11 cases to read before every class day.

I think law school enrollment is still on the decline. There aren't many folks out there willing to pay $40,000/yr in tuition. In 3 yrs, one would would have paid $120,000.

Anyway, it's been an intellectually-rewarding experience for me though.

1 Like

Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 3:34pm On Jul 23, 2015
pickabeau1:


When will it come to naija

Also these kind of restaurant where they serve chiken nuggets/boneless etc

Let me suggest a name

Chick Sights - you see a chick serving you chicken lipsrsealed wink

I will have my chicken three times a day wink
Bros, breastaurants won't be a hit in Naija. The concept is too radical to be widely accepted outside the confines of strip clubs.
How many ladies would accept to wear a bikini to work everyday, let alone wear pastors and a thong?
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by cococandy(f): 3:41pm On Jul 23, 2015
CFCfan where are they located gan.
I need to find me one and get some view.
Been meaning to go to a strip club might as well combine it with food and coffee. cool
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 3:45pm On Jul 23, 2015
cococandy:
CFCfan where are they located gan.
I need to find me one and get some view.
Been meaning to go to a strip club might as well combine it with food and coffee. cool
There are several locations of the "topless" coffee stands in Washington state. The Twin Peaks restaurant is in Texas and some other states.
Are u going to a male or female strip club? There should be a few gentlemen a clubs in your area; you can bring hubby along grin
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by cococandy(f): 3:50pm On Jul 23, 2015
CFCfan:

There are several locations of the "topless" coffee stands in Washington state. The Twin Peaks restaurant is in Texas and some other states.
Are u going to a male or female strip club? There should be a few gentlemen a clubs in your area; you can bring hubby along grin

I gotta google that.

Take the man along of course. It won't be fun going alone.
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by cococandy(f): 3:53pm On Jul 23, 2015
Here we go again. cheesy

We also know prostitution is the fault of feminists. grin
And Las Vegas came into existence because of feminists. As ridiculous as that sounds it's nice to accept it.

that's the whole sweetness in the arrangement. No one is forcing anyone into it.
CHOICE. CHOICE

Who no like am, make e follow another road pass.
Simples.

1 Like

Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 3:54pm On Jul 23, 2015
cococandy:


I gotta google that.

Take the man along of course. It won't be fun going alone.
Make konji no catch your man o grin
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by cococandy(f): 3:56pm On Jul 23, 2015
CFCfan:

Make konji no catch your man o grin

What am I here for? lipsrsealed

1 Like

Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 3:59pm On Jul 23, 2015
cococandy:


What am I here for? lipsrsealed
He may not be wild there in your presence, but would u allow him to go with his friends on another day?
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by Nobody: 4:01pm On Jul 23, 2015
This line cracked me up:"On Tuesdays and Thursdays, where the girls wear pasties and thongs, the line of vehicles stretches out to the street" cheesy cheesy
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by cococandy(f): 4:04pm On Jul 23, 2015
CFCfan:

He may not be wild there in your presence, but would u allow him to go with his friends on another day?
I would but that's if he'll even agree to go by himself.

Mehn them plenty o shocked just googling.
I meant strip clubs. Not the breastuarants.
Re: "Breastaurants": An American Phenomenon. by pickabeau1: 4:05pm On Jul 23, 2015
MizMyColi:
gringringringrin

I see you are actually making fun of modern feminists.

No I'm not


CFCfan:

I'm glad the semester is almost over cheesy it's been a hectic ride, with an average of 10-11 cases to read before every class day.
I think law school enrollment is still on the decline. There aren't many folks out there willing to pay $40,000/yr in tuition. In 3 yrs, one would would have paid $120,000.
Anyway, it's been an intellectually-rewarding experience for me though.


That's nice

Good to see you doing good

That brestaurant thing will sell in naija
Anything western is accepted

(1) (2) (3) (4) (Reply)

Do I Need A Transit Visa To Pass Through UK / 25-yr-old Corps Member Arrested For Swindling Visa Applicants / How Much Is Benin Republic International Passport

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 54
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.