The owners of a café in Afflecks Palace have hit back after a Labour councillor branded it ‘disgusting’. Urmston councillor Joanne Harding said that Animaid Café made her ‘fresh crawl [sic]’ in a tweet.
The venue takes up Japanese ‘maid café’ culture, where staff are dressed in anime-style maid’s uniforms, often seen in Manga cartoons. “What fresh hell is this in Manchester?” Harding said in the tweet “A ‘maid cafe’ - No touching or asking to touch the maids. We have a gender based violence strategy and ask ‘is this ok?’ - this makes my fresh [sic] crawl.”
Many others weighed in as one follower branded the café ‘Hooters for incels’, to which Harding replied ‘it’s disgusting’. She added ‘If you’ve got to have a sign up saying don’t touch the maids, there might be an issue. Women dressing in skimpy clothes, acting subserviently - what’s not to love’, followed by a facepalm emoji.
Read more: Ice cream boss out of pocket after Uber Eats customers 'lie to get free orders'
So far the tweet has been viewed nearly 60,000 times, with almost 300 likes. But the cafés owners have said the rules are in place - including not touching the maids or distracting them while they work - to empower staff and keep them safe.
Vick Littley, one of the cafe’s managers, told the MEN: “It was out of the blue and just felt derogatory. Most of the staff are young women - the post has been done with no grasp of what we actually are.
“We are a themed café where people can play board games, watch anime, sit and talk, study. We are not like how they are trying to portray us, we’re a bubble tea anime-themed café.”
Maid cafes in Japan are just one of a host cosplay restaurant and café themes, the first opening in Tokyo in 2001. Waitresses wear maid dresses, often harking back to styles of dress seen in Victorian times, though updated for the modern era and in the style of Manga cartoons, with shorter skirts.
They differ starkly from the concept of Japanese hostess clubs, which open at night, while photos are not permitted and the onus is on food and service, with the café's clients being mostly young people and families.
“We’re family-friendly place and do many events days for families,” Littley said. “A lot of our customers are families who always come together who love anime. We’re just not sure why they’ve decided to post like that. They are rules that should be in place everywhere across every industry.
“We have made them clear at the door for the peace of mind of our staff and anyone else. It’s to empower and support our staff that if anything does happen that makes them feel uncomfortable they have the rules to back them up.
“The post was just very aggressive and not what we are about at all. It invited people to comment that we are some sort of fetish venue but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Afflecks is known as a place that is diverse, open, and welcoming for everyone.
"Half the rules are completely normal and happen everywhere, such as not distracting staff when we’re really busy. We are just wanting to be a safe place for anyone who wants to come.
“The post seemed like an excuse to allow people to make up their own minds about the café before looking into anything that we are about. We’re no different to other themed cafes, like the cat café or gaming cafes that are popular everywhere.
“It’s a community of people who get made fun of a lot as it is which is why the post was sad to see. People who feel left out come here and make friends which is very positive.”
AJ Martyn, General Manager at Afflecks: "Afflecks is proud to be an inclusive space where we welcome all cultures and subcultures. The independently owned Animaid Cafe here on the 2nd floor has become a welcoming hub for the anime community and a popular and positive environment for all."
In a statement to the MEN, Ms Harding said: "I am not lobbying at all for this café to be closed. I am supportive of small independent business, at no point have I suggested I want this establishment to close. I am also not about preventing young people from meeting and having fun. I am about the safety of women and girls in Greater Manchester in line with our Gender Based Violence strategy.”
Read next:
- Woman fuming after partner, 48, turned away from bar for "being too old"
- 20 amazing places you need to visit across Greater Manchester in 2023
- "I tried the UK's first Indian drive thru and left with one regret"
- Courteeners celebrate record-breaking album at Liam Fray's own bar
- Award-winning restaurant announces shock closure in heartbreaking post
