Thanks to the loud complaints of residents in the small Bay Area city of Redwood City, employees of the newly launched coffee shop Pink Pantherz Espresso will not don bikinis while on the job. Nor will the shop feature edgy drinks like “Bootycall” and “Pantydropper.”
One local, Christina Heltsley, reportedly stamped on her brakes when she saw a sign a couple of months back that promised, “Bikini Shop, Coming Soon.” Since that apparently traumatic moment, Heltsley has been fervently campaigning with others to stop the shop’s opening.
“[O]pposition to the shop had grown so fierce, with residents storming government meetings in San Mateo County and gathering nearly 1,500 signatures demanding the place be banned, that a protest was planned at the new spot on Friday,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.
But those plans changed after the shop’s owner, Jose Carmona, agreed to sit with locals like Heltsley earlier this week for a discussion. During the discussion he agreed to abandon the bikini policy for his new Redwood City store and rename several drinks.
Carmona launched Pink Pantherz in 2014 and operates three additional shops in Modesto, Fremont and Fresno. Those shops still feature bikini-clad women, as evidenced by the photos below plucked from the chain’s Instagram page:
View this post on Instagram
Good morning Modesto !Britany is here till 10 .Come get a hot dirty blonde before she’s gone
Heltsley was thrilled by the agreement. In a statement to the Chronicle, she said that Carmona had “misjudged” her community and underestimated its ability “to advocate” and its “really strong voice.”
She was technically right, given as California is known for banning everything from free employee lunches to men-only corporate boards and even plastic straws.
The new location reportedly opened Friday without bikini-clad baristas. Heltsley was present to celebrate and presumably gloat.
“It’s a victory for the community,” she said. “It’s a victory for men and women. It’s a victory for families. It’s a victory for democracy.”
Not everybody agreed, including some of the chain’s own baristas.
“It should be more about women empowerment, and you should be happy that women feel comfortable working in their bikinis,” Brittany Doll, one of the baristas at the chain’s Fremont shop, opined. “I don’t see how a bikini is showing a wrong image, because if you go to the beach everyone is wearing a bikini. If you go to Hawaii, aren’t there little bars where people are serving stuff in their bikini?”
Folks on social media also disagreed, albeit for a variety of different reasons:
Booooooo….. “free the tatas”
— James Marks (@Adding_Alpha) September 14, 2018
It is disturbing that people are so offended by the human body. Instead of changing to a concealing outfit, they should have the staff work while completely nude.
— Kevin Shea (@kevin_nudist) September 14, 2018
Here’s an idea. Don’t like their approach to coffee? Try Starbuck’s where you can get a nice overpriced item made by liberal-minded tattooed baristas complete with nose rings and chewed off fingernails. Better yet, there’s a convent close by where nuns are brewing cups of joe. ?
— Stuart Sepaugh (@SepaughStuart) September 15, 2018
This just goes to show, no one can run a business their own way. Instead of going to another coffee shop, people complain about the staffs dress at this one. Hopefully these complainers don’t get subjected to the same scrutiny if they ever start their own business!
— Anina (@aninaneens) September 14, 2018
Bunch of bullcrap. We have that here in Anchorage Alaska and no one is throwing a tantrum , and I think it’s been 17 yrs we’ve had them here.
— Atom (@nunakadfi) September 14, 2018
To each their own, if you don’t like it don’t give them your business.
— jayne wilson (@jwjwtw1997) September 14, 2018
Some argued businesses should be able to operate how they choose, while others noted that society shouldn’t be so afraid of the human body. Meanwhile, one gentleman only this to say: “Free the tatas.” (Warning: According to CNN, liking “tatas” makes one a white supremacist.)
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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