Does the World Really Need One More Coffee Shop with Scantily Clad Baristas?

If you've ever driven through Old Town Glendale and thought, "This place could use some sexy baristas," well, your day has arrived.

Following in the semi-clothed footsteps of Bikini Beans, Braistas Coffee Bar (get it?!) is pretty much what you are picturing right now: a café with baristas who wear bust-centric garments. The shop is now open and will host its grand opening on April 1 (and no, we don't think it's a joke), serving up cold brew coffee, paninis, and suggestive outfits.

But before you transform into a cartoon wolf and start howling at the espresso grinder, the service might surprise you. We're not talking pasties and thongs. These are not edible panties straight from the shelves of Castle Megastore. Instead, the all-female baristas wear polka-dotted pink corsets, the same attire you might have seen at Hugh Hefner's mansion in the 1950s. To continue the corset theme, Braistas sells to-go cups wrapped in ribboned corsets. 

"I liked the idea of girls tending a coffee bar," Aaron Lopo tells New Times in an e-mail. "But [I] did not want to be the bikini coffee spots that are really pushing the envelope." In other words, not Bikini Beans.

Lopo is a Philadelphia native who has worked extensively in the local restaurant scene and counts Paul Flemming among his mentors. His vision for Braistas seems like a throwback to the days of Vegas showgirls and Playboy bunnies. The press material describes a "classy corset theme" and "carhop-like service."

"Every charity event or fancy function I have attended, the girls serving drinks or dealing cards are wearing corsets and nobody is offended," Lopo writes. "I wanted to be G-rated and family-friendly."

Which is good, we suppose, since a press release boasts of the shop's proximity to a local high school.

Lopo says he hopes this is the first of many Braistas locations.

For more information about Braistas, visit the café's website and Facebook page.