Baristas in bikinis? Here, it's just business as usual.
Women dressed in swimsuits and lingerie are serving up coffee at Java Girls, a shop in Orlando, Fla., that's been grabbing the attention of locals since it opened in November, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The scantily clad baristas who work in the small drive-through and window service shop say they're used to getting attention from men and women alike.
"We like showing off what we got," Belinda Messer, 20, told the Sentinel.
The Java Girls franchise calls itself "provocative," and its website says its mission is to "tastefully tease with sensuality in a barista uniform" while giving customers a unique coffee house experience.
Perhaps surprisingly, the concept of selling lattes in lacy lingerie isn't anything new.
Similar coffee shops have been around since at least 1996, raising some eyebrows and concerns all the while.
In 2009, five workers at a coffee shop in Washington state were charged with prostitution after an investigation found the women were charging extra money to let customers "touch their breasts and buttocks," the Associated Press reported.
But police said the charges were filed in reaction to their behavior, not their attire.
"They could have been wearing parkas and if they continued to conduct themselves that way, we still would have filed the criminal charges," Sgt. Robert Goetz told the Associated Press at the time.
The shops, which are popular in Vietnam, also began popping up in areas of California in past years. But when some started to feature fully nude waitresses and illegal gambling, cities responded by voting to stiffen regulations.
In an attempt to further capitalize on the attention-grabbing barely-there uniforms, at least one coffee chain is testing the waters of reality television. Earlier this year, Baristas Coffee Company, a chain based in Seattle, Wash., held casting calls for a TV show about the business, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Despite dealing with a few complaints, the owners of Florida's Java Girls store say they're still concentrated on serving up a good cup of joe.
"I don't care how pretty the girl is, if the coffee's not great, you're not coming back," Java Girls co-owner Todd Brognano told the Orlando Sentinel.
Wondering what it's like to work at a place like Java Girls? Click over to the Orlando Sentinel to hear employees share their stories.
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