Sometimes it takes a bikini to boost business.

Since dressing down its baristas, Hot Shotz - a drive-through coffee hut in Coos Bay - has seen a steady line of motorists swinging by for a cup of Joe served by latte slingers, clad in beachwear definitely not suitable for Oregon's blustery shores.

In a time when scaling back spending means bypassing pricey beverages, Hot Shotz isn't the only roadside coffee kiosk employing unconventional strategies to lure people off the road.

Manager Tara Carl said the espresso joint took a cue from Seattle, where bikini baristas are especially popular.

Carl estimates Hot Shotz serves about 150 people a day. Sales haven't always been so good. When baristas were fully clothed, "business was way, way down," she said.

Hot Shotz initiated the gimmick in June. It also sells cigarettes, making it the only place in the Bay Area where you can get your caffeine and nicotine fix from a beach bunny. (For the record, the baristas sometimes wear bikini tops with jeans, a concession to South Coast weather.)

The employees will sport the skimpy attire year-round. So far, there haven't been any complaints.

"People are definitely surprised, but they're never disappointed," Carl said.

Another coffee stand that stands out from the rest �” though for less sexy reasons �” is Hooked Espresso in Coquille.

Sue Berge and her father, John, converted a 1973 fiber foam fishing boat into a fully functional coffee kiosk. It sat in their yard for years before they decided to operate a business out of it.

The vessel, which was called The Wetta the Betta in its fishing days, is the best advertising they could have hoped for.

"Tourists are always stopping by to take pictures," Berge said. "It's very unique."

Once at the window, however, not everyone is ordering the top-dollar items. Some coffee kiosk owners have seen a trend toward the more modest beverages.

"It's a luxury now," Berge said. "It's not something they need."

Her sister also operates a coffee stand in Alaska, where people seem to be skimping on skinny soy lattes and other high-end drinks.

"She's really seen a decline this season," Berge said.

Sue Hampton doesn't just rely on passersby to frequent Top Dog Espresso Co. in North Bend. She takes her business to where her customers are. Deliveries and discounts to employees of nearby establishments have helped her bottom line.

She saw a dip in business about a year ago, when gas hovered around $4 a gallon.

"It was either buy a gallon of gas or a mocha," Hampton said. So she recently began to offer a dollar-off discount to employees of Super 8, The Mill Casino- Hotel and ACS.

"That has worked really well for us," she said.

She also offers customers something they otherwise can't get locally �” Cinnabons. She makes weekly trips to Valley River Center in Eugene to stock her inventory. Sticky buns are one more way to stick out in a market with about a dozen similar roadside establishments.

"We had half of that when we bought this place about four years ago," Hampton said. "The competition is really stiff."

This summer, Dutch Bros. knocked two bucks off all beverages during Two Dollar Tuesdays.

"We just wanted to bring some smiles to some faces," said Brad Young, franchisee of the three Dutch Bros. in Coos Bay and North Bend.

The ever-expanding franchise recently opened its 150th location in Arizona. And there is always potential for a few more Dutch Bros. cropping up here, too.

"I'm not taking it out of the realm of possibility," Young said. "We'll watch and wait and see."

It seems no matter how financially dire things get, many are still reluctant to break their latte habit.

"I think when times are bad, people need to feel good, and that's one of the affordable luxuries," he said.