1999: Best Untried Theme for a Restaurant

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Ah, the turn of the century, back when Inlander readers would break into peels of laughter when the very mention of the word "naked" was mentioned. The concept of a restaurant where the servers or the clientele were naked — or close to it — was positively delightful. This was, after all, the same year that American Pie combined nudity and pastries to create mediocre comedy. The thing is, Spokane actually did get something close to a version of this: the skeezy "bikini barista" trend, where scantily clad coffee babes would serve frappuccinos to drivers who wanted more than one kind of stimulant. But these days, our culture's become more crass in some ways — sharing photos of your own naked body has, insanely, become a dating ritual — and more squeamish in others. Note the trend of Gen Zers on Twitter grossed out — even offended — by the idea of sex scenes in movies. The Hooters in Spokane Valley, meanwhile, got converted to a church.