TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- The owner of an Asian and Latin restaurant in Traverse City is facing allegations of sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and retaliation, according to a federal lawsuit.

Gregory Anthony Craig, the owner and chef of Georgina's Fusion Cuisine, is the subject of the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Georgina's LLC last week.

The lawsuit claims that Craig violated federal law by subjecting female employees to repeated sexual harassment and retaliating against a female employee for opposing the harassment since at least November 2014.

"Owning a restaurant does not give one special license to sexually harass female employees," said Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the EEOC's Indianapolis District Office, in a press statement. "The EEOC will continue to stand up to such behavior wherever it occurs -- even in the small kitchens of quiet lakeside cities like Traverse City."

But the attorney representing Georgina's LLC, Matthew Vermetten, said his client "emphatically denies" each of the allegations against him. He plans to address specifics as part of his formal response to the complaint, but said he's waiting to be served the complaint.

According to the lawsuit, Craig repeatedly made lewd sexual comments to a female sous chief -- the second-ranking chef in the kitchen. When she complained about the comments to a manager, the owner allegedly stripped her of authority in the kitchen, changed her schedule and reduced her hours.

Ten minutes after she filed a written complaint documenting the harassment, she was terminated by the owner, the lawsuit claims. Vermetten confirmed that the woman was terminated, but declined to share the reasoning behind her firing until his formal response to the complaint.

Other female employees were also subjected to offensive conduct by the owner, including inappropriate touching of their buttocks, legs, chest, hips and crotch area, according to the lawsuit. They were also subjected to being kissed without consent, being forced to sit on the owner's lap and being subjected to continual commentary about how he wanted to have sex with them, according to the lawsuit.

The accusations would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination and retaliation for reporting a claim against the discrimination.

"While working in the kitchen (the female employee), Craig would loudly and with coarse language identify female guests he would like to have sex with," the lawsuit reads in part. "(The employee) made clear to Craig that these comments were unwelcome, but he persisted."

The EEOC said it first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the conciliation process. When that failed, the commission filed the lawsuit seeking backpay, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief.

Georgina's Fusion Cuisine is located at 236 East Front St. in Traverse City. In January, the owner opened a second location at 724 Wealthy St. SE in Grand Rapids.