Steamy menu at Bottom’s Up in Clovis sparks controversy

Inside the Bottom’s Up cafe in the conservative Central Valley town of Clovis, scantily clad baristas in bikini tops set about creating what the company calls the “the best drive-through coffee experience.”

But it’s not the scene inside that has generated a bit of controversy in the Fresno-adjacent town. For Candice Eslick and the roughly 150 people who signed her petition, it’s the list of drink names listed on the exterior of the coffee hut that has them steamed, names like “Get Lai’ed,” “Screamer” and “Sex in your mouth.”

Eslick and her supporters want the menu moved inside.

In making her case to the City Council, Eslick, a working mother and grandmother who lives one block away from the shop on Shaw and Peach avenues, recalled seeing young children reading the menu and taking photos next to the “half naked girls” who work there, The Fresno Bee reported.

Eslick urged City Council members to send “a message to our young girls that this is not the way to do business.”

A much more common sight in Washington and Oregon, Bottom’s Up Espresso started expanding its franchise into California in 2011, first in Modesto, then in Clovis. The company attributes its success to a combination of “great customer service, great drinks and sexy women,” according to a statement on its website.
The company also sells calendars featuring baristas in far less clothing.

The Clovis City Council has agreed to take up the matter, including whether the cafe is operating within the terms of its business license and whether it can force the menu to be moved indoors, the Bee reported.

jason.wells@latimes.com

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