High school girls say local chain 'selling sex' - not coffee

STOUGHTON, Mass — The new Marylou's Coffee shop in Stoughton is brewing more than just coffee.

The shop opened right down the road from the high school, where a group of students are outraged.

The students, who say they're the 'U-Knighted Feminists of Stoughton High,' sent a letter to Marylou's claiming they are selling sex instead of coffee, and they're not welcome in town. The girls tweeted at Marylou's saying, "You need to do better and work on your diversity. Your idea of beauty is bogus."

The students also sent a letter to Keli-Jo Rowell, CEO of Marylou's:

"We feel so angry. Your business does not feel inclusive or welcoming. We demand that you explain yourselves, change your business practices and hire people who look like us, who aren't just an object for you to place behind your pink counters."

>> Read the full letter sent to Marylou's

Marylou's didn't want to go on camera, but tells Boston 25 News they were blindsided by the tweet and letter, saying it "was inaccurate, incorrectly characterized our company and its hiring policies, and unjustly disparaged our employees."

>> Read Marylou's full statement here

The school superintendent says the group is not sanctioned at Stoughton High School and the district condemns the words in the letter.

"We the members of the administration for both the high school and the district, want to make it clear that we condemn this letter in its entirety, that we had no idea that it was going to be written or sent."

>> Read the letter the superintendent sent to the Stoughton community 

The superintendent also said there is an investigation going on and appropriate measures will be taken.

The girls have since issued an apology, saying in part:

"We made a mistake and we own that entirely... We admit the mistake; we take ownership and we're doing all we can to make it right."

Cox Media Group