Why is WA home to so many bikini baristas? Here's what it takes to do the job

Yahoo

21-04-2025

Jayla Mason was already halfway through her shift Tuesday inside a small bubblegum-colored Pink Sugar Espresso stand in Tacoma when the morning rush began to slow. Donning a see-through pink jumpsuit that left little to the imagination, Mason is a 23-year-old bikini barista who is used to the stares.
In a state known for coffee, where small drive-through stands pop up on nearly every corner, bikini baristas have carved their niche in a saturated market over the last two decades. How did they get their start? What does it take to do that job?
Mason has worked in the industry for five years, three of them at the pink stand in the South End (which advertises 'Hot coffee, hotter baristas'). Now a manager, Mason said, 'I have never done, like, clothed coffee' and started working as a bikini barista when she turned 18, 'obviously for the money.'
Although she's paid hourly, Mason usually walks away with about $200 in tips per shift, although she said that rate used to be between $400-$500 a shift before the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulars will come by and sometimes give her a $100 tip with their coffee order, but the job comes at a cost, Mason said.
'It's definitely a little bit degrading. But … you have a body, rock it. Why not?' she said, cleaning the espresso machine. 'I love what I do. At times it has its downs, for sure … You deal with the perverts and whatever. But I've been in this industry for a while now, so I've grown a little thicker skin.'
Mason said her job has taken a toll on her relationships because not every man wants to date a bikini barista. A lot of baristas also carry pepper spray, bear mace or baseball bats in their stands to defend themselves against aggressive clients. Mason, for instance, carries a gun. All Pink Sugar Espresso stands are fitted with an internal panic button and internal and external security cameras, she said.
Although most of her patrons are men with wedding rings between ages 35 and 60, Mason said she also gets couples and people from all walks of life. When customers ask for her number, she directs them to her work Instagram (@coffee.w.jay) and will only respond if they send her something on Cashapp.
'I've never had any, like, crazy stalkers for anything like that. I live very far from where I work. That's why I also work up here, because I don't want people following me,' Mason said. 'We're just people. A lot of the time people treat us as animals, and they'll come and start recording you or start taking pictures of you … it's just a weird feeling, because we're people, right? You know, we [just] have a little less clothes on.'
Of the six Pierce County bikini coffee stands this reporter visited over the course of a Tuesday afternoon, only one other barista was willing to talk to The News Tribune about her experiences.
A 23-year-old strawberry blonde Ladybug Espresso employee wanted to remain anonymous to protect her privacy. She said she started working as a bikini barista because one of her friends worked there, and she wanted to have a fun job in her early 20s to save up some money. As a line of pickup trucks and SUVs snaked around the small red hut decorated in ladybug spots, she said she usually feels safe working but keeps a cup of boiling water nearby just in case. Although she hasn't worked at a strip club or done sex work, she said 'it's really common' among bikini baristas.
Mason said she usually gets about 30 customers a day in the winter and spring, and 45 to 55 a day in the summer months. The morning shift is usually busier, until the days get longer, she said. When it's cold, Mason said, the coffee stands are stocked with heaters and baristas usually wear robes when they don't have customers.
It's hard to calculate how many bikini barista stands are in Pierce County because the stands are often licensed, taxed and regulated the same as any other coffee stand. Bikini barista stands don't meet the definition of 'adult entertainment' under state or county law, but cities can have their own regulations limiting them, said Pierce County auditor Linda Farmer.
Most of the ones in Pierce County are in Lakewood along South Tacoma Way or in the South End of Tacoma and Spanaway area along State Route 7, according to Google Maps.
In Tacoma, bikini barista stands need to get a general business license like any other business, and owners need to take steps to ensure they aren't classified as 'adult entertainment.' That means making sure their scantily clad employees aren't visible 'at any time from outside the facility or from any other place,' said city spokesperson Maria Lee, citing Tacoma Municipal Code 6B.30.
There are nine bikini barista stands in Lakewood, and the city doesn't require special regulations either, said communications manager Brynn Grimley.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department regulates bikini coffee shops the same as any other food establishment, requiring workers to wear clean clothes and maintain good hygiene, said spokesperson Kenny Via.
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries said there's not a specific rule that coffee stand workers have to wear personal protective equipment like close-toed shoes, but businesses are required to do a PPE hazard assessment where their employees are working, and, if a hazard exists, they could require employees to wear PPE to address it, said communications consultant Dina Lorraine.
Although most bikini baristas work alone, the state's isolated worker law — which seeks to protect employees who spend a majority of their working hours alone or without another coworker present from sexual harassment and assault — doesn't apply to bikini baristas or coffee-stand workers, Lorraine said. That law only applies to employees working as security guards, commercial janitors, hotel or motel housekeepers and room service attendants, she said.
Eddie Alvarado is the founder of Coffee Shop Startups, an online consultation firm based in Seattle that has helped people wanting to open everything from a bikini barista stand to a brick-and-mortar coffee shop, coffee kiosk, coffee trailer, online coffee shop or amateur roastery for about 15 years. He's written articles about how to start bikini coffee shops and the pros and cons of running those types of stands. Most of his clients call him from outside of Washington and the Pacific Northwest, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
In America the drive-through coffee stand came as a result of to-go coffee culture on the open road, Alvarado said. Bikini barista stands began popping up in the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s as a result of 'extreme competition' and a desire to stand out in an over-saturated coffee market, he said. Corporations like Starbucks and Dutch Brothers have also 'invested heavily' in drive-through stands all over the country in the last decade, adding to the competition, Alvarado said.
'You have a number of drive-through stands that are kind of your typical mom-and-pop stands, or typical stands that just kind of pop up on the side of the road. And then you have an enormous amount of really good coffee roasters,' he said. 'And we have a lot of people interested in coffee, and a lot of people being on the road, coupled with the pressures of commercial rents that have people looking for innovative options by which to sell coffee.'
The Northwest is a popular place for bikini barista stands, which have popped up in places like Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Nevada, he said.
Cowgirls Espresso in Tukwila is credited as one of the first bikini barista stands to open in 2002, according to multiple news outlets. A May 2024 article from the Portland Eater titled, 'Portland's Bikini Barista Revolution,' said there are more than 150 bikini coffee stands in Washington, the densest place in the United States. Portland's more lax public nudity laws and unique ownership model (where 'nearly all' bikini stands are owned by current or former bikini baristas, according to writer Lauren Yoshiko) makes that city fertile grounds for them, too.
Alvarado encourages people thinking about opening a bikini barista stand to consider several things. Although the business can be 'very lucrative' for both owners and baristas, owners need to consider community backlash or scrutiny as a result of the stands, he said. Owners also should take steps to find a good location, mitigate risk in the cash-heavy business and hire baristas who adhere to a strong code of ethics and are clear about tolerated behavior to reduce turnover, Alvarado said.
In terms of safety for employees, owners should make sure the stand is in a well-trafficked, well-lit area with secure windows and doors, he said. Baristas should be trained on what to do in the case of a robbery or when they receive unwanted attention, Alvarado said. It can also be good practice to double up on staffing during certain hours of the day or have a manager on site to support baristas when they leave to ensure they're not followed, he said.
'It's unfortunate, but in many of the stands, you have a very vulnerable individual or two that are possibly alone with a lot of money that can be easily watched,' Alvarado said. 'Owners really need to take a lot of precautions in terms of keeping the barista safe.'
Uniquely is a series from The News Tribune that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in Pierce County so special.