City Bans "Lingerie Cafes" From Showing Underboob

A California city is cracking down on “lingerie cafes,” coffee shops that feature scantily clad women and possibly illegal gambling.

Garden Grove, CA is home to a large Vietnamese-American community and, according to the Los Angeles Independent, 37 lingerie cafes, where barely-dressed women serve non-alcoholic drinks. Says police Lt. Jeff Nightengale of the waitresses’ attire, “We’re talking about sheer negligees where nothing is left to the imagination.” But now patrons are going to have to imagine — according to new rules instituted last week, waitresses will have to cover their butt cracks, pubic areas, and “the area of their breasts below the areola.” Also included in the rules is a ban on arcade games, which authorities say can conceal illegal gambling. Enforcement of the new requirements could begin this weekend, and up to 21 of the cafes are currently out of compliance.

Fully nude strip clubs exist just a quick drive away from Garden Grove, so it seems a little strange to place extra restrictions on businesses that offer neither booze nor full frontal. But other cities in the area have striven to tighten up the distinction between what’s a strip club and what’s not, and lingerie cafes might have to register as adult businesses if they wanted their waitresses to be able to take it all off. In addition, there appears to be some concern that the cafes are turning into gang hotspots. Authorities appear to think that eliminating underboob will curb crime — only time will reveal if that actually works.

Little Saigon Waitresses Must Put On More Clothes By FRIDAY [OC Weekly]
Police Chief: Sexy Cafes Must Clean Up By Friday [OC Register]
Garden Grove To Start Enforcing New Ordinance On ‘Lingerie Cafes’ [LA Independent]