Category Archives: Coffee

Garden Grove’s Vietnamese coffeehouses now have until the weekend to fully comply with an ordinance that went into effect last Friday, according to the L.A. Times.

The new ordinance demands that “​Windows must be untinted. Gambling machines must be removed. Cigarettes must be tossed. And those little pasties adorning the nipples of waitresses must be replaced with something that resembles real clothing,” according to the O.C. Weekly.

“Officials say there are 37 of these coffee houses in Garden Grove. Raney told council members that the cafes have become notorious for gang activity and waitresses who wear nothing under their sheer dresses. The ordinance requires the waitresses not to expose the area of their breasts below the areola,” according to the O.C. Register.

You have to wonder if Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s husband, Tom Bonikowski, was involved in this crackdown, in his capacity as a Garden Grove Planning Commissioner.  If so, this may cost Nguyen votes in her next election.  The cafes are very popular in Little Saigon.  Click here to sift through the Garden Grove Planning Commission agendas and minutes.

If Bonikowski did lead the charge against the Viet cafes, it would be ironic since he owns a Lee’s Sandwiches franchise in Stanton that has been busted repeatedly for health code violations.

How long before Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects start complaining about our own Vietnamese Cafe, the famous Cafe Lu?  The owner of Cafe Lu, Natalie Nguyen, used to be one of the Cafe Lu girls, but she bought the place a few years ago.  Now they are doing great – and they even sell a Cafe Lu girls calendar.  You can get a glimpse of it at their website.  And you can see even more pictures on their Facebook page, by clicking here.

The pictures accompanying this post are from Cafe Lu’s Facebook page.