Java Divas has baristas in bikinis (and other outfits)

On the side of Ritchie Highway in sunny, beautiful Pasadena, there's a little gray coffee shack called Java Divas.

It's a drive-thru coffee shop with beans roasted by Caffe Pronto in Annapolis, snowballs and all-natural smoothies.

Oh, and all the baristas are young women in skimpy outfits. Seriously.

Here's my story on Java Divas, which ran in today's paper. And here's a photo gallery of three of the divas.

The whole bikini barista idea isn't anything new. Shops like Java Divas are all over the west coast, in states like Washington ...

Java Divas owner Brandy McMillion (I love that last name) saw a special on the Travel Channel and decided to open one of her own.

Java Divas opened last November, and is doing better than McMillion originally imagined. Her husband, Billl, built the little shop, and they leased the land from a gas station. The owner of the gas station said business has been up by something like 20 percent since Java Divas opened.

Of course, Java Divas has its skeptics. But McMillion hasn't gotten any complaints, and the customers I talked to were loving it. I didn't try any, but I heard the coffee's great. 

(Baltimore Sun photo by Doug Kapustin)