Bored Like Me

Opinions differ on topless coffee shop plan


Neighbors who live near the Grand View Motel, which could soon offer a grand view of another sort, offered mixed opinions Sunday on a proposal to turn the old motel into a coffee shop with topless waitresses.
Members of the Vassalboro Planning Board on Tuesday will consider Donald Crabtree of Ellsworth's request for a business permit. Crabtree, who was working inside the building on Sunday, said he did not want to talk about his proposal prior to the meeting.

"I'd rather not talk," he said. "Not right now."

The former motel, which has been the site of many business ventures in the last several years, is on Route 3 just over the Augusta line. It was most recently Mac Daddy's Pub at the Fat Cat Grille, which closed three or four years ago, said Planning Board Chairwoman Virginia Brackett.

The one-story building with log cabin-style siding still has an array of signs out front, including a real-estate sign, a Pepsi sign, a solicitation for someone to lease the building and one that says "Entertainment Thursday, Friday, Saturday."

Becky Young, who lives on Mudget Hill Road, which runs behind the motel, said neighbors got a lot of unwelcome traffic when there was a bar open at that location. She's not in favor of a topless coffee shop.

"This is a rural town," she said as she walked her two dogs. "It's country. People move here to be quiet. I think it would bring a bad crowd."

Yet others said they hope some sort of stable business is able to make a go of it, regardless of whether waitresses wear tops or not.

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