Flesh Peddling

Recently in the course of my job was entertained by local law enforcement. They periodically come in to my place of work with a law breaker who needs clearance for jail or a combative schizophrenic and even occasionally for a rowdy patient or guest. They are a lovely bunch to work with, very polite and well armed. I feel very secure having them around. I’ve never run afoul of the law, what with being the worlds most boring person, so I’m not sure if I could get away with anything, but I make a point of learning their names and being friendly with them just in case I’m pulled over for some sort of infraction or am falsely accused of a crime. While we were entertaining each other the other night with tales from dark side of our hometown we discussed where to get coffee late nights. Also of interest was the new coffee stand in town whose chief attraction is scantily clad Barista’s, which come to find out was not a joke they were pulling on me but a real live business that just opened and incidentally the local law enforcement has been instructed not to patronize.  I don’t read the local newspaper or watch local television, the reporting is subpar and the stories are just dull. I depend on work to find out the latest goings on around town, but I braved the Daily Wreck to bring you this story.

Bikinied baristas serve-up Ellensburg  By CHELSEA KROTZER staff writer ELLENSBURG – Ellensburg opened its business doors to a new kind of espresso stand, offering iced mochas, Italian sodas and a variety of coffees served by bikini-clad baristas. Java Jigglers had its grand opening and free car wash Saturday. The hot pink-roofed stand is located at the west Interstate 90 interchange in Ellensburg across from the Chevron station. “I think it’s a great location,” Jaimie Lopez, Ellensburg resident and Java Jigglers customer, said. “You don’t have to go all the way back into town just to get coffee.” Owners Cliff and Myrna West opened the stand as their first business venture as a means to keep Cliff home more often with his children, namely their 7-year-old.   The dress code at Java Jigglers has already sparked controversy. According to Cliff, verbal threats and obscenities are just the beginning of the negative feedback. “I want to keep it as clean as possible; conservative, but I still want to survive,” Cliff said. “I went to the bar and I was totally shocked and amazed at what I’d seen and heard. This is tame in comparison.” Customers didn’t seem to mind the dress code, or the coffee. “I don’t look at it as profanity or something bad,” Lopez said. “You go to the lake in a bikini don’t you? So why can’t you work in it?” Amy Johnson, a sophomore paramedic student at Central Washington University, works at Java Jigglers as a second job. She also works at Rodeo City Barbeque. Johnson was not fazed by the bikini requirement.     “Well, it’s a job,” Johnson said. “It’s not bad. [The owners] are really nice.”  West and family try to keep the safety of the five girls they currently employ in mind. Cliff said they were looking into installing video surveillance cameras in the near future. For now, someone of the West family is constantly at the stand to keep an eye on the girls during their shifts.     Java Jigglers is currently open from 5 a.m. and closes around 10 p.m. The Wests are planning on providing 24-hour service. Such a transition would depend on if they could hire more baristas. Java Jigglers is currently open from 5 a.m. and closes around 10 p.m. The Wests are planning on providing 24-hour service. Such a transition would depend on if they could hire more baristas. “We work around their schedule for school and so on,” Cliff said. A Java Jigglers Web site is currently in the works, providing a platform for the baristas to share their stories and why they chose to become a Java Jiggler’s employee.

First of all Jaimie Lopez does not have to go “all the way into town” for coffee. At that intersection there are four or more options to get your java. Cliff and Myrna West say they started the business to keep Cliff at home more with the kiddies, then further down explain that someone from the West family is “constantly” at the stand to keep an eye on the girls. How’s that working for spending more time with the kiddies Cliff and Myrna? The fact that they feel they are doing so means they recognize the possibility of sexual harassment or worse against their employees. Cliff says “I went to the bar …  and this is tame in comparison”, that’s because you were at a bar Cliffie, not a coffee stand. Jaimie Lopez again chimes in with the argument of wearing a bikini at a lake, so why not work in one. Jaimie, Jaimie, Jaimie, a)  bikini at a lake is appropriate attire b) bikini at coffee stand is gratuitous sexual titillation. Amy says it’s just a job, smart girl, but is being exploited by your employer worth the tips and wages you’re earning? Are they worth being abused by lewd comments and the burns to your skin you will inevitably incur? Good luck with your coffee stand and website Cliff and Myrna West, you must be very proud to be supporters of The Porno-ization  of America (thank you Jill Soloway).

I honestly don’t think I’m a prude, go ahead and have all the sex you want with whoever you want (just please wear a condom and obey the law), but I am mindful of the impression given by young women featured in businesses like this and the “show us your tits” phenomenon, which I foolishly thought was on it’s way out with the incarceration of Joe Francis.  The impression I get is that it is fine for women to exploit their bodies for profit and the exploiters are just family people, making a living.  This is just another arm of the sex industry no matter how you put it. There will always be titty bars, but do we really need titty bar-istas?