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Concerns Over Scantly Clad Waitresses In San Jose Cafés

SAN JOSE (CBS 5) -- At some Vietnamese cafes in San Jose, they are grinding more than just coffee beans. In certain establishments, waitresses are wearing next to nothing.

Recently, cell phone video of the waitresses was shot inside Café Quyen near Tully and King Roads in San Jose. The café is in Councilwoman Madison Nguyen's district, who said angry wives often send her the videos with the hope she could do something.

Nguyen said while scantily clad women are nothing new at San Jose's two dozen Viet cafes, around half of the establishments started showing even more skin to attract customers in a down economy.

"The issue here is that these coffee shops are open to the public. Young children can go in…sit there with girls walking around semi-naked or completely naked. I think that's a problem," Nguyen said.

Sergeant Jason Dwyer of the San Jose Police Department said full nudity at the cafes is against the law. But with a skyrocketing murder rate and the department set to lay off 100 officers, naked waitresses are not a major priority.

"If it's a choice between sending people out to do gang suppression or sending them into some of these coffee shops, which can be a labor intensive operation if it's undercover, we're probably going to lean towards violent crime," Dwyer said.

City officials say they are taking steps to try to get café owners to tone it down. But it's a challenge, while sex and caffeine are a profitable combination.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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