Do you like your barista in a bikini? Well, now you can have your cake and drink your coffee, too. Simply visit the newly-opened Bikinii Coffee in Riviera Beach.
The 1,300-square-foot space is located across from the new Ocean Mall plaza where Wings surf shop recently opened. The corner spot is directly off Blue Heron Blvd., just over the bridge that drops you into Riviera Beach's Singer Island.
Inside, bikini-clad coffee bartenders pour everything from your average cup of Joe, to iced coffees and lattes, or a shot of espresso.
Owner Ray Webber, a longtime South Floridian and general contractor for the area, said he had the idea to open Bikinii Coffee when down-time during season left him mulling over various business ideas.
"My line of work is done when the [part-time residents] aren't here," said Webber, who performs structural repairs on high-rise buildings. "So I wanted a business that would give me something to do during the winter months."
Open for business last week, the girls -- all 10 female employees -- wear two-piece swimsuits while serving coffee in the store's tiki-hut themed space. Right now, the official uniform is a stars-and-stripes bikini, an all-American choice, said Webber.
Webber told Clean Plate Charlie he got the idea to open a bikini coffee shop early last year, but wasn't aware the idea for such a concept had already been done in several other locations nationwide with places like Java Girls in Orlando, and Cowgirls Espresso in Seattle, Washington.
"I'd always wanted to do a real bikini car wash, like they used to have down in Fort Lauderdale," said Webber.
Instead, Webber decided to put the girls in bikinis and have them serve food and drink -- especially coffee after a friend vacationing in Denver, Colorado, told him about a mobile food truck known as Twin Perks, where girls in bathing suits served coffee from an open service counter.
"I saw there were other places, and I realized I wasn't the first," said Webber, who added an "i" to bikini because the name "bikini coffee" was already in use elsewhere.
Even if he isn't the first bikini coffee shop, Webber is the first in Palm Beach County to open a coffee bar where each of his employees, most of whom are college-aged girls happy to be hanging out in their bathing suit on Singer Island.
At the moment, the Bikinii Coffee Right menu offers just the basics, with a 12-ounce cup of coffee priced at $2, and a 12-ounce iced coffee or single-shot latte at $2.50. A morning happy hour from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. serves $1 coffee daily.
The gawking, however, is free. Just don't be too obvious. "I think of these girls like they were my own daughters, and I'll protect them the same way," said Webber. "This is meant to be fun."
Although there is no kitchen on-premise, Bikinii Coffee also sells a variety of pre-made food, including muffins, bagels and pastries. There's also a limited lunch menu with options like a fruit cup, yogurt parfait, salad or sandwich. Plans to expand the food menu to include catered lunch items are in the works.
Bikinii Coffee is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be hosting its grand opening on Friday, February 22, at its location at 1289 East Blue Heron Boulevard on Singer Island. The event will take place all day, and will offer free food and $1 coffees. For more information visit the Bikinii Coffee Facebook page, or call 561-444-3359.
Follow Clean Plate Charlie on Twitter @CleanPlateBPB and Nicole Danna @SoFloNicole
