A Spanish restaurant came under attack from women’s rights activists after reportedly forcing its female staff to serve customers in lingerie.

The Eric Ⅱ restaurant, located in Catalonia, Spain, saw its business flourish with the underdressed waitresses serving breakfast to guests until women’s rights activists reported the embattled restaurant to police, the Daily Mail reported.

After the restaurant was featured on local television, the activists from the Reus L’Hora Violeta accused the restaurant of “taking advantage of the fact that many of the waitresses might lose their jobs” if they refused to agree to strip down to their underwear.

The restaurant owner Loli Carrillo, however, dismissed the criticism, saying that she was only encouraging staff to be more “inventive” when serving customers. She also explained that they wore just their underwear only on certain days of the week.

Amid an economic downturn, it was “the only way” to ensure the restaurant’s future and jobs for the staff, Carrillo said. “As far as I am concerned it is a family business, and it is not sexist to do what we have done.”

By Ock Hyun-ju, Intern reporter (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)