REDMOND, Wash. - The owners of a new drive-through espresso stand in downtown Redmond that features lingerie-clad baristas are vowing to fight an order by the city to remove their signs.

Little Shop Espresso operator and barista Kellie Echeverry, 36, says the city is telling her she must remove the signs by Friday. Most of the signs feature photos of Echeverry and her daughter, Amber, 16, who also works as a barista at the stand.

Echeverry bought the espresso business in February, but she wasn't getting many customers.

"Business was crashing to the point where I was going to close it down," she said.

She did a little research, visiting a few other stands that offer an "alternative" espresso experience, and decided she would try it.

She and her daughter wear either lingerie or a bikini while serving up lattes.

Susan Wyatt / KING5.com

Kellie Echeverry operates Little Shop Espresso in Redmond.

"It's tripled my business," she said.

But some people aren't happy.

"I think it's in poor taste," said Linda Collins, a paralegal who works downtown.

Collins, who has complained to the city about Little Shop, conceded that Echeverry isn't doing anything illegal. But she's concerned about the signs.

"It's across from the Lake Washington School District administrative offices. You've got kids going in and out a lot of the time," she said.

"It's just going to start hurting the small stands," said Jovanna Edge, manager of Java 2 Go espresso, which is located just a few blocks from Little Shop.

Edge has even begun to post a sign advertising "family friendly" espresso.

"So people don't have to worry if we have clothes on," she said.

Susan Wyatt / KING5.com

The signs at Little Shop Espresso feature photos of the baristas.

Redmond City Code Enforcement Officer Carl McCarthy said there have been several complaints about the business itself and the signs out front.

"Police investigated and there was no exposure or illegal activity of any kind," he said.

But, he said, the signs were installed without a permit. City code requires that a permit be obtained to install a new, altered, or relocated sign.

McCarthy said businesses do have First Amendment rights, and he hasn't seen anything that's considered indecent according to court standards, but a permit is required.

"Basically they're illegal signs. And we're having them removed," he said.

Echeverry says one of the signs in question has been on the site for years, and has been changed three times in the last year.

But, she said, "They have never complained about the signs, ever, until we changed (to lingerie). It's just a way for them to breathe down my throat."

Echeverry said she will consult an attorney.

"If we have to take that sign down that's been there since 1988, we'll just find another way to advertise," she said.