Opinion on this subject will be placed immediately following the main article
Controversy over bikinis and coffee spread quickly when the Knotty Bodies espresso stand opened up.
By quickly, it was pretty much on all the radio talk shows yesterday, especially on KIRO. And pictures of the stand has been posted on pretty much every news web site.
The people that oppose the business center around how children will react, whether it be from the back seat of a parent's car or from the nearby Crossroads Park. It also stems in part from controversies involving other, similar businesses that went into a far more explicit route.
Listening to KIRO, one could tell that some were offended by the business, others not so much. Those who weren't said that the clothing (or lack thereof) of the baristas were comparable to what women would wear at a beach.
The manager of the business defends the choice in saying they had worked out many of the issues, include full disclosure via the name and sign, as well as having the window face away from the park.
While the business did file for a permit, a technicality may force it to shut down. The city says that the designated lot maybe too small for a drive-through.
Normally with this type of problem, the city would work with the business to fix the technicality. In this case, the technicality maybe more of an excuse for the city council to close the controversial coffee stand down.
However, as of this morning the coffee stand is still running, despite both the controversy and an order to shut down.
Opinion:
While I have not gone to this or any similar coffee stand (in part because I don't drink coffee), this controversy is overblown. Can a business like this go overboard: yes, and we have seen it recently.
The main defense is that nothing there is shown that one can't see at any public beach, which is very true. If anything, the sign would need to be made less explicit, since the name alone is a good description. Also, the Seattle Times found that there are two other similar coffee stands operating in Bellevue.
Which brings the location: near a park that children often reside. This is my problem with the argument: parents should be watching their kids. This should even more of a factor when children are in the back of a car. If you are a parent that objects to this type of business, you should be watching your kids. The same is true with movies and videogames.
Then there's Bellevue Deputy Mayor Claudia Balducci, who has suggested shaming patrons by taking photos and posting them on the web. This. Is. Appalling. People have to respect decisions, even moral ones, that others make for themselves. The coffee stand isn't displaying illegal behavior by the baristas, as such any patrons aren't doing anything illegal themselves. For a city official to suggest that shaming, an effect that would easily be considered a chilling effect on their rights, is an answer makes me more worried over the shape of our political environment.
On the other hand, the coffee stand should have shut down this morning. I don't think it should be shut down permanently, but at the very least the managers should work with the city to fix issues. There will always be people who don't listen (see problems with political environment), but if it brings money in the city should be more than willing to negotiate and solve this problem.
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