Topless coffee shop in US forced to close over 'boobies wanted' sign
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A coffee shop in the US, where topless waitresses served customers, has been forced to close after it put up a 'boobies wanted' sign.
Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine, hit the headlines when it opened in 2009, offering to serve customers semi-nude, causing a storm of protest in a small town.
And despite a wave of protest from local campaigners in its home town of fewer than 5,000 people - and one high profile arson attack - the shop had until now, managed to keep business going.
But the controversial store's topless waitresses will finally have to get dressed and leave after town officials ruled that it has been putting up signs illegally.
Bosses insist the order has nothing to do with the shop's nudity policy - or the fact that the signs offered a topless car wash and advertised: ‘Boobies wanted’.
They said simply putting up the new signs without permission violated zoning rules.
Donald Crabtree, the owner of Grand View Coffee Shop, which uses topless male and female waiters, said he had given up after fighting to exist for two years.
"I wanted to have some fun; I wanted to see people smile," the Daily Mail quoted Crabtree as telling local paper the Maine Morning Sentinel.
"I started the topless coffee shop to do that, and it did. But now my smile's gone. I've fought that fight for more than two years now and no matter how hard I try to make this work, somebody sabotages me," Crabtree added.
"These people are bound and determined to shut you down. I'm singled out, but I'm just trying to make a living like everyone else," he added.
Crabtree, 43, who has since run the business from a trailer, finally decided to close down after he was forced to take down the nude car wash and 'boobies wanted" signs.
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