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Maine Restaurant ‘Naked Lunch’ Under Fire

By Karyn Chenoweth Oct 6, 2007, 17:37 GMT

free lunch for everybody EPA/Hana Kalvachova

Some people will do anything for a free lunch.

In usually nippy Maine, a free sandwich is given to customers who take the "Naked Lunch" challenge and plunge naked off the restaurant’s dock.

The Black Frog Restaurant's version of the "Naked Lunch" may soon be banned.

A sandwich called the Skinny Dip, featuring sliced prime rib in a baguette roll, has been offered free of charge to anyone willing to plunge naked from the restaurant's dock into Moosehead Lake.

The offer was introduced three years ago, and owner Leigh Turner had plenty of takers. "We've had two or three a week," he said.

The AP reports that during that time only one patron has suggested the activity was inappropriate, Turner said. However, that patron apparently suggested to selectmen recently that the activity be curtailed.

The naked lunch issue came up this week when Town Manager John Simko presented the Black Frog's application to renew its liquor license. Simko said he had been approached about the nudity and suggested that Police Chief Scott MacMaster speak to the owner about it.

Turner did not attend the selectmen's meeting, but said he would remove the free lunch offer if asked to do so.

The skinny dip was said to be usually done at night, no frontal nudity was exposed to customers and a towel was readily available, Turner said.

"Most everybody applauded" when patrons took the plunge, he added.