No howdy for Cowgirls

In response to your article titled, “Scantily clad baristas? Not in her neighborhood,” I completely agree. Not in my neighborhood, either.

A streetside sign in front of another coffee vendor stated, “We don’t have to take our clothes off to sell you coffee.” Right on.

Owner Lori Bowden might say that how her baristas dress “isn’t as bad as everybody thinks it is,” but I think she’s wrong. What she DOES know is that sex sells … but I feel it’s wrong to use it in the coffee business. This is Auburn, not the seedy part of First Avenue in downtown Seattle.

Auburn is really hurting for good businesses right now. I’d rather have a substantial business with a positive image come to town, rather than our empty spaces being filled up with tattoo parlors, adult toy shops and coffee stands with nearly-naked women serving coffee.

Put the pasties and the G-strings back where they belong – in a strip club.

As one employee stated, “None of the girls are being forced to do this, and we are all considered adults and able to make our own decisions.” True. But no one ever said that serving coffee half-naked was the RIGHT decision.

– Deanna McKinley