Topless Coffee Shop in Maine Burned Down, Arson Suspected
The Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Maine has been burned down. The Bangor Daily Newsreports that the state fire marshal's office says arson was behind the fire.
The fire at the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop was reported just before 1 a.m. by an ambulance that happened to be driving past.
The state fire marshal's office concluded it was arson after investigators, aided by a specially trained dog, sifted through the shop's ruins. Officials would not say how or where the fire started, but said evidence was taken to the state police crime lab for analysis.
The coffee shop featured waiters and waitresses without shirts serving coffee and doughnuts. Owner Donald Crabtree had met Tuesday night with planning officials to discuss adding a disc jockey, expanding parking and extending the hours of operation.
Crabtree said he spent $277,000 buying and renovating the former motel in Vassalboro, just north of Augusta. It wasn’t insured, he said. He and six others who live in the old motel escaped the fire unharmed.
No one was injured in the blaze. The coffee shop went topless in February in an attempt to survive the recession. The owner was planning to expand the business.
CNN reports that business is brisk at the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop, a topless coffee shop recently launched in Vassalboro, Maine, a small town in maine with less than 4,500 residents. The restaurant received over 150 applications partly because of the tough job market.
In a town with fewer than 4,500 residents, the topless coffee shop is booming with business. Paul Crabtree, the owner's brother, describes business so far as "fantastic."
"It's just been crowds mobbing in," he said.
Donald Crabtree faced initial opposition to his plan, but he won the right to go ahead in a planning board hearing last week. Many local residents were irate over the idea of combining coffee and nudity. Crabtree, however, saw a profitable business venture.
"I know what people want," he said. "People like nudity, and coffee is profitable. Sure, I'd start a coffee shop, but I'd be out of work in a week."
There's not a name for the topless baristas at the coffee shop but USA Today's bare-istas is pretty good. In the video below the AP says there were 200 curious people at the coffee shop on opening day. Some Vassalboro residents are unhappy the waitresses at the coffee shop are topless.
