The owners of a newly opened sports bar in Olds where female servers work in bikinis are asking the community to check the establishment out before forming any opinions.
“I think that people should stick their nose in and have a look and see before they pass judgment,” said Reg Carrick, who co-owns The Perfect Round with Jen Donofrio. “We don't have a (stripper's) pole in here and there's no DJ.”
Carrick and Donofrio bought the former site of Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Olds Burger Palace and Lebanese Cuisine restaurant on Highway 27 in June and, after a closure of several months, reopened the bar on Oct. 30.
With the reopening came the introduction of bikini-clad servers and Carrick said the reason for the new feature at the bar was to push the “fun” atmosphere of a sports bar to increase business.
“We had to de-emphasize the kitchen a little bit and emphasize the front and alcohol sales,” he said. “So this was the concept we came up with. We're trying to do something a little different than anyone else has in town.”
Donofrio added that prior to the reopening, the establishment was lacking “atmosphere and the experience.”
“We found that by bringing in servers with bikinis we'd bring in more energy, people would be a little more excited to come here,” she said. “Where's a place where you can go in right now that is that much fun? We're just trying to address something that the community doesn't have.”
Carrick and Donofrio realize the concept of servers in bikinis may ruffle a few feathers in the community, but Donofrio said the bar is still a “high-class” establishment where the servers are “tastefully dressed” in bikini tops and shorts.
“It's not about displaying women in a derogatory sense in any way,” she said.
Many other bars and nightclubs have female servers who are dressed much more “provocatively” than the staff at The Perfect Round, Carrick added.
“I don't think our servers are wearing much less than they would at a lot of clubs in Calgary like the Tilted Kilt.”
Servers at the Tilted Kilt wear short kilts and low-cut tops that expose their midriffs.
He also said the bar's four servers are professionals—one is an accountant—or Red Deer College students and they are not meant to look like “exotic dancers.”
“These girls have personality, they're fun and they're not taking it too serious so nobody else should take it too serious,” Carrick said.
Carrick is the head coach of the Olds College Broncos women's basketball team and Donofrio is the assistant coach.
When asked if they were worried about the perception in the community about having two major role models for young women at the college running a bar with bikini-clad servers, Carrick said he doesn't see a problem since the women are having fun and making money to advance their careers and education.
“And they're absolutely not doing anything they don't want to do. If they wanted to be regular servers, they could do that where they're from.”
He added he could see why some might make a comparison with the Hooters chain, where female servers dress in tank tops and short shorts, but he pointed out Hooters are family restaurants while The Perfect Round is a “minors prohibited” bar.
So far, reaction has been positive to the bar's new feature, Carrick said, adding men and women are enjoying the establishment.
The bar will celebrate its official grand opening on Nov. 6.
