Customers are hot about a change in their espresso routine.
Caboose Expresso in Arlington, soon to be Grab and Go Bikini Hut, has gone the way of other shops around Snohomish County, with baristas clad in underwear.
Beth Karrenberg was a frequent flier at the stand, having received about 100 free cups of coffee from her punch cards.
They had her drink ready at the window if they saw her car.
“I drove by just a few days ago, thought about stopping for my drink, but when I looked in the window to see who was working, I was stunned to see a young girl in a bright pink pair of panties and a bra,” Karrenberg says. “I kept driving and decided to go to Starbucks instead.”
She grew up in the Smokey Point area and likes to think of her community as being a nice, classy, small town.
“Is this a strip club or a coffee stand? The word exotic does not make me think delicious coffee, it makes me think Honey’s or Rick’s girls swinging their naked bodies around a metal pole.”
She adds: “Sex does not sell coffee.”
Kathryn Austin says she isn’t a Miss Goody-two-shoes, but the new marketing ploy upset her.
“I drove up and a young lady came to the window with a purple bra on that was very noticeably four sizes too small,’ Austin says. “I’m wondering how many other young girls are out there, in this lack of a decent job world, wearing clothes they would rather not wear.”
Owner Bill Wheeler said the change happened Monday.
“We’re not hurting anybody,” Wheeler says. “We have a right to be in business.”
He said his employees are wearing bikinis, not lingerie, and this stand is in a commercial area.
“We donate money to cancer and kids in need,” Wheeler says. “They can say what they want, but this is ridiculous.”
They are celebrating the first day of spring today at Windermere Real Estate on Camano Island.
And it comes with a bit of good real estate news.
Broker Marla Shea says statistics show an increase in sales on the island this year, compared to the same time last year.
The party is planned from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 818 N. Sunrise Blvd. on Camano Island. Spring Forward Celebration 2009 features refreshments and wine tasting, courtesy of Dusty Cellars Winery. Coastal Community Bank is helping plan the social mixer.
Shoultes Elementary School in Marysville offers two performances today of “Beauty and the Beast.”
The first performance is at 2 p.m. and the second is at 7 p.m. at 13525 51st Ave. NE.
Librarian and teacher Nancy Hammer was up to the challenge of directing the school-aged cast. When she read plays to the children, they showed a wealth of untapped theatrical talent, she said.
She found a play written for their age group, limiting the lines they had to memorize. Eight different performers play the Beast and Beauty.
“There are 35 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who tried out, and there are 35 kids who are participating,” she says. “We found something for all of them.”
Parent Sandra Norris, who doesn’t have a child in the play but loved high school drama classes, has spent endless hours sewing costumes and creating props.
Hammer has worked for Shoultes for 13 years and says she loves the community.
“My heart breaks for kids in school today,” she says. “We don’t have enough time in our heavy academic day for self-expression and creativity. This is my way of giving these kids another way to express themselves.”
The Stanwood Cooperative Preschool offers its annual fundraiser at 6 p.m. Saturday at Stanwood Fairgrounds.
It’s a bunco night with a raffle and auction, food and dancing.
For ticket information call 360-629-3155.
Erika Sigmon says parents all help out at the school once a week. They take parenting classes and care for the guinea pigs and stick bugs.
Her oldest, David, is in the third grade. Alex is a first-grader. Both attended the preschool. Zachary, almost 3, is in the toddler class.
“The best part about our preschool is play time with the kids,” Sigmon says. “We use their creativity and build on it, helping shy kids shine and helping the bolder kids figure out social boundaries, preparing them all for success in kindergarten.”
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
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