Vietnamese bikini coffee shops are in the spotlight once again

Chris Haire/OC Register

Vietnamese bikini coffee shops are somewhat a staple and lure of Little Saigon but with certain cafes going too far in the nudity department, local cities have had to put in restrictions.

Cafe  Lu, located in Santa Ana is one of the coffee shops that features bikini clad women in their establishment. (Photo: https://www.facebook.com/cafelu/)

Tonight,  Stanton’s City Council is expected to make sure coffee shops venturing into their city will not go the way of nudity and smoking. The vote is coming in anticipation of one or more bikini coffee bars opening in Stanton.
The new rules include no tinting or covering windows, no live entertainment, no smoking, no exposure of “male or female genitals, the anal region, or buttocks.”

These coffee shops are known for the scantily clad women teetering on high heels, in various outfits that range from swimsuits to lingerie serving coffee and drinks.

Vietnamese men will come and sit for hours, smoking and chatting with the waitresses and catching up with old friends.

In 2011, the city of Garden Grove imposed rules for the coffee shops that prohibited nudity, smoking and gambling, in a bid to curb rising gang activity. That year, police officers raided over 20 cafes and resulted in $145,000 being seized from over 200 illegal gaming machines.