Ojos Locos pushes back on city dress code

A letter to the city from Ojos Locos calls the city-wide dress code “unenforceable and unlawful.” (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY - The city of Downey could soon be taken to court by Ojos Locos over its city-wide dress code, which was implemented in 2022 in anticipation of the restaurant's arrival.

According to a letter sent to the city by Ojos Locos General Counsel Dawn Diaz, two administrative citations have been administered to the restaurant. However, Diaz says that the citations were for the same violation which was double billed due to there being two company officers, thus resulting in $4,000 being paid to the city through the appeal process.

Diaz continued, calling the city’s dress code “both unenforceable and unlawful.”

“We are requesting that the city not target and discriminate against the female gender that we hire as Chicas, immediately refund all fees paid, and revoke said ordinance,” she said.

The city council is scheduled to discuss the issue at their meeting on Tuesday as part of closed session.

A city-wide dress code was approved in March 2022 in direct response to Ojos Locos, due to residents’ concerns that waitresses in the restaurant would be wearing as little as bras, panties, and lingerie seen on previous Ojos Locos social media posts from other chains. The restaurant refuted these claims, saying that the lingerie seen in pictures online was not what was intended for the Downey location.

Under the ordinance, food handlers are not able to expose any portion of the midriff, any portion of the chest three inches below the clavicle, and/or any portion of the leg less than three inches below the buttocks. Violators – which could include the establishment and the employee themselves - are subject to fines of $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense, and $2,000 for any following offenses.

While not clad in underwear, waitresses at the Downey chain do wear short skirts and low-cut tops that do not cover the midriff.