The Animaid maid cafe in Manchester is hiring more staff despite a local politician’s public contempt for the establishment.

Manchest Councilwoman of the Urmston Ward Joanne Harding reportedly said the establishment had made her “flesh crawl”. 

She further expressed concern about Animaid’s rule of not touching the maids, and not asking to touch the maids; lamenting that such a rule shouldn’t need to exist. The cafe also sells anime related merch and figures.

A commenter under one politician’s post went as far as to call the place “Hooters for incels“. Those who support the cafe have praised it as a successful small business in the area,

After these comments, the patrons of Animaid seemingly doubled down to support the cafe. In order to accommodate their sudden growth, Animaid put out an open call for applications (which are now closed) on their official Instagram account.

Maid cafes have existed in Japan for decades; though in the west they’re largely just pop-up places at anime conventions. It seems Animaid is trying to export the business model popular in Akihabara to Manchester; and business seems better than ever.