Café con piernas (Spanish for "coffee with legs") is a coffee shop style popular in Chile where the service staff are all or nearly all attractive women dressed in (by local standards) revealing clothing. [1] Coffee shops with waitresses serving in miniskirts and heels to businessmen had long been popular, but bikinis and similar attire accelerated the trend by the mid-1990s. The shops are very numerous and popular in Santiago. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] It is frequently noted that the shops seem to contradict Chile's traditionally conservative culture. [7] [8]
Generally, the women walk on a raised catwalk behind the bar so as to maximize the view for patrons. [8] Not all locations feature women in bikinis or lingerie: some have stayed with the traditional miniskirt and heels.
See also
- Bikini barista (similar phenomenon in the northwestern United States)
- Betel nut beauty ( Taiwan)
- Host and hostess clubs, Maid café, and No-pan kissa ( Japan)
- Breastaurant
References
- ^ Gallardo, Eduardo (13 October 1998). Coffee With Legs' Offends Some Chilean Sensibilities, Kentucky New Era ( Associated Press)
- ^ Flinn, John (12 February 2006). Out on a limb for coffee with legs, San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ Chong, Kevin (28 May 2010). Santiago: A city with legs, Toronto Star
- ^ Heather Murphy (September 17, 2008). "A Little Skin With Your Latte?". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ Adam Fuller and Jason Snyder (August 1, 2008). "CAFÉ CON PIERNAS: GOOD 'TIL THE LAST DROP". The Santiago Times. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ CAFÉ CON PIERNAS: ¡QUÉ SABOR! Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, chile.com (in Spanish), Retrieved March 22, 2011
- ^ Ossa, Felipe (5 May 2000). Cafes ... with legs, Salon.com
- ^ a b (12 August 2003). Cafe With Legs Sizzles In Uptight Chile, Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A1, A13
