Rocklin Business Gives Coffee Some Sex Appeal

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At a new concept coffeehouse, the term “Hott Coffee” is a double entendre. A caramel-nonfat-mocha is expertly made by a friendly and trained barista, who also happens to be scantily dressed in a bikini top and a pair of small short-shorts. 

She's hot and it's coffee, get it?

Tucked away in a quiet Rocklin shopping center on Lone Tree Boulevard—in the same complex as a scrapbook superstore and a fitness club—this business is hoping to create a niche for itself by merging a little bit of Hooters and Starbucks into one place.

Hott Coffee, owned by Ken Ames and his father-in-law, Mon Singh, opened two months ago and already has generated a buzz for its risqué theme.

But Ames admits that while the girls and bikinis may help bring in business, good coffee and a fun atmosphere is what will keep people coming back.

We talk to Ames about coffee, bikinis and what the neighborhood thinks of the “hot” new concept.

Coffee and bikinis—how did you decide to put those two together?

Ames: You have to do something to compete. We use the bikinis to get customers in, but we have good quality coffee to keep them coming back. We originally thought of starting a bikini car wash, but coffee is more seasonal. In the summer, we have smoothies and milkshakes, and when you come in on a cold day, you see girls in bikinis.

Why bikinis?

Ames: Sex sells. I’m sorry, but it’s not an original idea, and it works. The whole point is to have good coffee and good food; the bikinis just draw people in. We want to try and make coffee more fun.

Have you received any complaints from residents?

Ames: We’ve only had two or three complaints. They hear bikini coffeehouse and they think [the women] are wearing only bikinis. But we aren’t trying to be trashy. The feedback has been that people like it.

How important is it to you to create good coffee versus focusing strictly on the bikinis?

Ames: We had a United States barista champion from Seattle fly down to train everyone here so they would know how to make drinks and how to do everything safely, so they don’t get hurt. We (Ames and father-in-law) went up to Seattle to get trained at the coffee roasters' where we get our beans.

So, where are the men in swim trunks?

Ames: We get a lot of that. We did think about that. I’ll let my wife deal with that part.


Hott Coffee
6843 Lone Tree Blvd.
Rocklin
(916) 787-3232
Hours: Monday–Sunday 6 a.m.–7 p.m.