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Grand View Serving Coffee Shopless, Though not Topless

June 10, 2009 - VASSALBORO — From no tops to bikini tops to sweatshirts, the women are still serving coffee and doughnuts.

And still collecting money.

The former Grand View Topless Coffee Shop on Route 3, a victim of arson on June 3, has reopened under a tent near the burned-out building. The waitresses, who are volunteering their time, wore sweatshirts on a rainy Tuesday morning, one day after they sported bikinis in the parking lot.

"They're getting a little wet out there," said business owner Donald Crabtree. "Anything to get back in business and get the girls working again.

"They have car payments, house payments, kids. They're volunteering their time, and they're still getting tips and they're getting checks in the mail from people. One girl got a $10 check from a lady (from) out of state."

Tuesday morning's waitresses were Krista MacIntyre and Amy Greenleaf. In between serving food and drink, they worked on reclaiming a few rooms of the former motel.

"Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll be in three temporary rooms so the staff can go back to being topless," Crabtree said. "We'll still have some waitresses outside fully clothed. There's no charge until we get into a new building."

The tent site has been operating from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the same hours the coffee shop did. It will be up and running today, too, Crabtree said.

The night before the fire, Crabtree met with the Vassalboro Planning Board to discuss a proposal to extend hours and have topless women dance to music played by a disc jockey.

"People are real supportive right now," Crabtree said. "Some people are showing up, not for coffee or doughnuts, just donating."

The business is running on generator power, he said.

Crabtree said he had considered bringing a doublewide mobile home to his property and setting up business there, but under town zoning rules, Crabtree would need to apply for a new permit if he were to put up a trailer in Grand View's parking lot.

"So we went with a tent, and a tent is not a structure," he said.

He said he has plans to rebuild on site, despite having no insurance on the building that burned.

On Monday night, 200 voters at a town meeting adopted an ordinance regulating "adult-only" businesses in town, a measure proposed in reaction to Crabtree's business, which has received national attention since opening in February.

Crabtree and six others, including two 4-month-old babies, were asleep when the building was set afire early June 3. They were awakened by a passing ambulance crew who saw the smoke.

Crabtree and the others escaped without injury, but most of the building burned.

By BETTY ADAMS, Kennebec Journal June 10, 2009


Lakes:
Regions: Belgrade, Mid Coast


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