Venue partner: Racy Meter Maid bar outfits no secret
METER Maids brand owner Roberta Aitchison has fired back at her business partner in a bar venture saying she is stunned he had issues with the “skimpy” staff bar uniforms.
The short-lived Meter Maids bar and restaurant operation opened in central Surfers Paradise in late March but abruptly shut four weeks ago.
A bitter row between Ms Aitchison and bar business partner John Sankey erupted in the lead-up to its closure, the Bulletin revealed yesterday.
Mr Sankey told the Bulletin he had not been happy with the bar girls’ sparkly bikini uniforms and he believed they had made some customers and staff uncomfortable.
But Ms Aitchison has shot back at Mr Sankey — who remains a shareholder — saying he would have known what the outfits would be like prior to opening.
“The girls are still in bikinis the same as they were everywhere else on the street. So I have changed nothing,” Ms Aitchison said.
“Those uniforms cost me $2000 and I put them all out on the bar top before the bar opened,” she said.
“I’m proud of everything I do, everything I’ve done with the Meter Maids.”
The Meter Maids have a 50year-plus tradition of walking the streets of Surfers Paradise in golden bikinis, high heels and akubra hats.
The service was initially started as a city tourism gimmick feeding meters to help visitors avoid fines. Ms Aitchison owns the trademark and now runs it privately, with her Meter Maids selling merchandise as well as feeding meters.
She said she and third venue shareholder Greg Kafritsas hoped to get a new licence to trade until 1am as a bar, replacing their cafe bar licence which required food to be served.
Mr Sankey has said he wants to have no involvement in those future plans.