San Jose police officers doing a routine check of a Vietnamese coffee shop Sunday evening cited three young female workers who they said were serving patrons while topless.

The women, ages 22, 22 and 23, are employees of the Quyen Cafe, located at 1692 Tully Road, according to police. The women were accused of public nudity, a violation of municipal code, and will have to appear in criminal court, according to officer Jose Garcia.

Because the women were cited and not arrested, police did not release their names.

A woman who answered the cafe’s phone said she didn’t work this weekend and then passed the phone to another woman who said the charges weren’t true. Neither would identify themselves, and the second woman would not answer questions.

Garcia said the officers were in full uniform when they walked into the coffee shop about 8:30 p.m. and immediately saw the topless servers.

Quyen Cafe is one of about 20 coffee shops concentrated in a 3-square-mile area of a Vietnamese business area bounded by Story and Tully roads that recently drew public ire for using scantily clad or seminude female servers.

“The police department is aware that some establishments have had employees working as waitresses or bartenders while seminude or topless,” said Garcia, adding that in some cases workers have worn transparent clothing.

The owners of the Quyen Café, were not cited by police. However, “that’s not to say the city won’t take action down the road,” Garcia said.

Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869.