Family-friendly espresso to replace bikini-clad baristas

Work is underway to transform the former Caffeine Cuties into a family-friendly espresso stand.
Work is underway to transform the former Caffeine Cuties into a family-friendly espresso stand.

Story and photo by Doug Petrowski

The only operating bikini barista stand in Mountlake Terrace has been sold to new owners who plan on reopening the business in the next couple of days as a “family-friendly” operation.

Caffeine Cuties, on the corner of 236th Street Southwest and 56th Avenue West, will be renamed The Bean Feen, said mother and daughter owners Jackie and Destiny Briones. They hope to start serving drinks from the stand on Friday, Feb. 15.

“We are changing it from a bikini stand to a family-friendly stand,” said Jackie Briones. “You don’t wear your bikini at work, unless you’re a lifeguard or a model.”

The Briones have been at the stand this week preparing for its reopening, but have had some setbacks along the way, the latest being the breakdown of the espresso machine itself. They hope to have it repaired on Thursday and ready for a Friday morning opening; if the machine doesn’t get fixed in time, the stand’s reopening may be delayed a day or two.

Destiny Briones will take the lead in daily operation of the stand and is planning on working seven days a week to start. “I want to establish that there are new owners here; I will start all day every day for awhile,” she promised.

Getting out the message that the stand will be different from its previous operation is vital for the Briones, starting with turning around the illuminated sign that said “Caffeine Cuties” so it’s illegible. “Personally I thought it was disrespectful to have that kind of business across the street from a church,” said Destiny.“I would never operate a bikini stand.”

Although they don’t live in Mountlake Terrace (Jackie and her husband live near Granite Falls, Destiny in Mill Creek), they want their new business to be supportive of the area. They are already thinking about making the parking lot around the stand available on weekends to community groups for fundraising car washes and other activities.

This is the second stand for the Briones’ family, who have owned and operated Coffee Driven in Lynnwood for a couple of months.

And how did the new name, The Bean Feen, originate? “We were sitting around brainstorming and my younger brother came up with it,” Destiny said. “We kind of liked it.”

  1. I am SO happy to see this!  I drove by the other day and saw that it was under new management and was going to be family friendly again and I was THRILLED! 
    Thank you ladies for bringing class back to that coffee stand!  =)

  2. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jackie and Destiny. I agree that it was disrespectful to have a bikini stand across the street from a church and I’m so glad you’ve purchased it. Good luck to you and welcome to Mountlake Terrace!

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