Maine Topless Coffee Bar Owner Victim of Arson

June 8, 8:29 AMLA Coffee ExaminerKim Winklhofer

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  AP Photo: Joel Page

Donald Crabtree, owner of the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop (shown right with his brother and one of the waitresses), was planning to make his Vassalboro, Maine, business more like a strip club. In fact, he discussed the idea with local Maine officials. Apparently someone didn't like the idea, because only hours later, someone set his house and coffee shop on fire.

Thank goodness at 12:58 a.m. an ambulance crew saw the fire and woke up Crabtree and his family. In the house were his twin daughters, their boyfriends and their two babies. No one was injured. The fire has been declared arson by the State Fire Marshal's office and evidence collected is being analyzed.

Crabtree plans to set up a tent and have his (clothed) waitresses serve free coffee and doughnuts while manning a collection jar so he can rebuild. He was not insured.

Reaction to this is mixed. Some are upset he wasn't insured and see donations to be "sending good money after bad." One person claims Crabtree exploits women. Still others are outraged that the person responsible for the fire took matters into their own hands.

One person commented,  "I recognized it was his right to run a topless coffee shop. I just thought it was a rather low class thing to do. Since the fire, I feel strong support for the man. I become outraged each time something like this happens. Someone, somewhere, feels their objections to the life style of another, is MORE important than the law, more important than the lives of the children who lived there and sets out to be judge and jury, and destroy that person.

"And in the dark of night, the sneaky b@st@ard goes in and torches the place. A strong objector with morals would have put together a protest and marched in front of the business, taken pictures of the license plates of the patrons and published them somehow. But no, that would have taken courage and strength and a sense of fair play."

I wholeheartedly agree. If someone wanted to open a topless coffee bar in my neighborhood, I'd not be thrilled, however, I will never condone arson as a way to demonstrate displeasure, no matter how extreme.

For more info: June 7, 2009 Kennebec Journal article by Scott Monroe, June 10, 2009 follow-up article by Betty Adams

To send a donation: Donald Crabtree 1494 North Belfast Ave. Vassalboro, Maine 04989