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  • Striking Casa Bonita performers hit the picket line on Halloween

    LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Performers at the iconic Casa Bonita restaurant were in costume on Halloween, but instead of delighting guests inside, they were outside the restaurant on the picket line.

    The Actors’ Equity Association, which represents cliff divers, roving actors and other unionized performers, announced the strike on Wednesday. The union is concerned about low wages and a lack of safety for those performers.

    Robert Christie, who plays the character Black Bart at the restaurant, said it has been “a wonderful experience,” but “it has not paid off.”

    Denver7

    Robert Christie as Black Bart

    Christie came to the restaurant in 2023 when it reopened under the ownership of “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

    “That’s the reason I’m here,” Christie told Denver7 Friday. “I really understand their tone and their point of view. That said, a lot of the guests come in thinking this is not a family restaurant and that they can abuse the entertainment. Aside from that, we’ve never had a fire drill. We’ve never had an active shooter drill. There’s no emergency action plan in place for if anything were to happen to a [cliff] diver, and we’re fed up.”

    Christie said while bartenders and servers make $30 an hour, plus tips, performers on the low end of the pay range make only about $21 an hour.

    Casa Bonita strike.jpg

    Denver7

    “These people have no scripts,” he explained. “Everything they do is essentially improv. They are out there out of the kindness of their heart, their creativity, their experience in entertainment, delivering consistently for the guests that come to Casa Bonita, banking on entertainment as making their experience worthwhile.”

    The restaurant took on a Halloween theme this fall, becoming “Casa Boo-nita.” But some performers say the change has led to their hours being cut.

    “They brought this on themselves with laying off over 1,000 hours of unionized workers’ labor in the month of October,” Christie said. “Everything just kind of snowballed into this. And they eventually walked away from the table.”

    Casa Bonita strike.jpg

    Denver7

    Matt Stone addressed the concern that the Halloween theme would take away beloved characters from the restaurant in an exclusive interview with our news partners at The Denver Post, saying plans would change seasonally, but the characters would not be permanently eliminated.

    Denver7 pushed for answers from Casa Bonita management, which responded with the following statement:

    “At Casa Bonita, we value all of our team members and their well being. As a policy we do not comment on ongoing labor negotiations.”

    Casa Bonita management

    The strike is set to last through Saturday. It’s unclear if it will be extended.

    “Casa Bonita is not going anywhere,” said Christie. “This place is an institution, and we want to make sure that it survives for the next 50 years so that future generations of performers can come here and work under safe conditions.”

    On Friday, the Taylor family, originally from Colorado, flew in from San Diego to visit the restaurant.

    “We used to come here all the time for Halloween, so I thought it’d be real special to come here and enjoy it with my family once again,” said Jonah Taylor.

    Jonah Taylor.jpg

    Denver7

    Jonah Taylor

    His father, Jeff, called the timing a “bummer.” The family kept their dinner reservations, but expressed support for the striking performers.

    Jonah called the strike “a complete shocker, just considering how much money [ownership] put into the place.”

    “I think they deserve the best, especially when it comes to, you know, entertaining and, you know, making the restaurant even better,” he said of the performers. “I hope it’s not like a ghost town in there, but I’m sure it’s going to be a lot more different without the people that really make the place.”

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    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Ryan Fish

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  • Casa Bonita actors, cliff divers launch strike during Halloween

    There will be no cliff divers entertaining guests at Casa Bonita on Halloween as the restaurant’s cast of performers initiates a three-day strike.

    On Wednesday, the Actors’ Equity Association announced that Casa Bonita’s divers, magicians, roving actors and other unionized performers would picket outside the pink palace, at 6715 W. Colfax Ave. in Lakewood, following unsuccessful efforts to bargain their first contract. The strike is scheduled to take place on Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

    Casa Bonita workers voted to unionize in November 2024 as they sought better pay and to establish workplace protections. The restaurant and entertainment venue is a beloved historic landmark and in 2023, reopened under the ownership of locally raised celebrities Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The creators of the “South Park” TV show reportedly spent $40 million reviving the restaurant after purchasing it out of bankruptcy.

    Casa Bonita serves thousands of diners each week and actors previously told The Denver Post there have been numerous incidents involving guests that had staff concerned for their safety.

    The bargaining unit of 57 people has been engaged in negotiations since April, according to the Actors’ Equity Association, and last month, it filed an unfair labor practices charge after performers’ hours were cut to accommodate a Halloween pop-up event.

    Tiney Ricciardi

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  • Casa Bonita entertainers and crew members file petition to form union

    Casa Bonita entertainers and crew members file petition to form union

    Denver news

    Two petitions have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board, listing 78 employees. Both full and part-time workers.

    Casa Bonita is nearly ready to reopen. May 26, 2023.

    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Actors, stunt performers, and entertainers working at Casa Bonita are trying to form a union under the Actors’ Equity Association and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

    Casa Bonita, the iconic pink restaurant in Lakewood, reopened in May 2023 after being purchased by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of hit television comedy South Park, which featured the location in a 2003 episode, lending to its notoriety in Colorado.

    During its renovation, the restaurant began hiring hundreds and revamped its menu to lure customers back to the local fixture. The move cost the South Park creators $40 million.

    The restaurant functions like a pseudo-amusement park. While eating meals, guests can watch live entertainment like magicians, puppeteers, and cliff divers. 

    Casa Bonita’s entertainment workers told The Hollywood Reporter that they’re looking to form a union to establish better safety standards at work, fair wages, and greater benefits.

    “We believe a strong union contract could help us solve the challenges we’ve encountered around safety, scheduling, compensation and communication,” the workers leading the effort said in a statement. “Having a document that clearly sets shared expectations – and the mechanisms to enforce those expectations – will strengthen Casa Bonita and enable us to provide the best possible experience for our guests.”

    The workers have filed two petitions with the National Labor Relations Board. The petitions listed a total of 78 employees, which include both full- and part-time workers. The union asked for voluntary recognition from Casa Bonita, however, the request was declined, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Filing the petitions is only one step in a process that could eventually lead to a vote by workers on whether to unionize.

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  • Casa Bonita reservations open, then close, as 50,000 people swamp new system

    Casa Bonita reservations open, then close, as 50,000 people swamp new system

    Casa Bonita is nearly ready to reopen. May 26, 2023.

    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Casa Bonita is finally offering reservations to the general public following a multimillion-dollar renovation. Instead of applying to a lottery for seating at the pink nostalgia dream of a restaurant, you can book a reservation online, starting today. 

    But landing that coveted table doesn’t seem any easier yet — as of Monday morning, more than 50,000 people were in the queue for a chance to eat dinner in the presence of cliff-divers and gorilla-costumed performers.

    Casa Bonita reopened in May of 2023 after two years and $40 million  of improvements under the ownership of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, also known as the creators of South Park. Since then, the iconic pink restaurant has been easing into its new-and-improved era with a soft opening. 

    Over the past fifteen months, fans from across the state, the country and the world have flocked to see nostalgia revived. But until today, reservations have only been accessible via a random lottery coordinated through the Casa Bonita newsletter. This exclusive and suspenseful system piqued fans’ interest. But it also infuriated many who wanted to get in on the hype.

    Social media users heckled Stone and Parker for implementing a “you can’t come” technique, a business model Stone and Parker mocked in an episode of the show.

    As it turns out, Casa Bonita’s new reservation system, currently offering tables for October and November, may not solve the “you can’t come” problem just yet. Shortly after booking opened, over 50,000 fans filled the online queue.

    Though some were able to secure a date — like Denver Redditor u/hookedonwinter, who “did what any self-respecting developer would do and wrote some code” to help them score a table — many others came up empty-handed.

    At 11:31 a.m., Casa Bonita sent an email declaring, “We have the best fans in the world. In fact, there are so many of you that you’ve already booked all our priority reservations for October and November. If you didn’t get one, please try again at www.casabonitadenver.com when general public availability opens at 3pm MT.”

    For those who do make it through the afternoon gauntlet, have a plan ready and credit card information handy – you only get 12 minutes to book a table.

    Good luck out there, Casa champions. We hope you get your share of food and fun in a festive atmosphere.

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  • Dana Rodriguez’s new steakhouse will satisfy both “normies” and “ballers”

    Dana Rodriguez’s new steakhouse will satisfy both “normies” and “ballers”

    When Dana Rodriguez invited Governor Jared Polis to the opening of her new restaurant, she said he replied with a text that read, “Loca, now I know why they call you ‘Loca.’ You don’t have enough of Casa Bonita that you want to open another restaurant?”

    Rodriguez, the culinary director of the famous Casa Bonita, is opening Carne, a steakhouse at 2601 Larimer St. in Denver’s River North Art District on July 3. Last week, she wore her chef Loca nickname with beaming pride during a preview of the restaurant as she walked around hand-in-hand with her new beau and business partner, Scott Shoemaker, who oversaw the renovations at Casa Bonita and helped her design the sleek, 1970s-style steakhouse.

    Carne was inspired by her culinary travels and experiences in kitchens specializing in cuisines from around the world over the last 20 years. Guests can take a trip to France with duck confit or make a stop in Italy with veal osso bucco. The eclectic menu boasts Argentinian steak, Mexican ribs with a charcoal rub, Brazillia picanha steak and Colorado lamb.

    “This is one of the only steakhouses in RiNo, let alone women-owned, so I wanted it to be fun, not like a traditional, stuffy setting,” Rodriguez said. “You can come here after work in a t-shirt and shorts, and get a full meal under $200.”

    The opening comes just two months after Rodriguez closed Cantina Loca, her first solo project, due to low traffic. “The stress to keep up a restaurant is a lot, but you also need to be smart enough to make the decision when you know it’s not sustainable,” she said. She’s also no longer a part of Doña Loca, the mezcal brand she co-founded in 2021 and which was featured at Cantina Loca. Rodriguez explained that she didn’t have enough time to travel for the tastings and wanted to focus on her other restaurants, Work & Class and Super Mega Bien.

    The multi-James Beard-nominated chef didn’t let the closure bring her down, though. “They put you down, but you’re not dead,” she said. “You can have opportunities to come back, do new things and keep providing for your employees.”

    That’s why she says that when she spotted an empty corner space just down the block from Work & Class where Il Posto previously operated for 17 years, “I knew everything was supposed to happen for a reason.”

    From left clockwise are cauliflower, proveleta, Mexican recado negra costillas, beef tiradito, crab cakes and Colorado lamb, at Carne in Denver on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

    Carne’s menu is playful with a section for “The Normies,” which includes a traditional 6-oz. filet ($33) or 10-oz. New York strip ($45). Then there’s “The Ballers,” for those looking for a $50 sirloin wagyu or $175 tomahawk steak. Sides, like the creamy au Gratin green chili cheese potatoes or a whole head of spicy roasted cauliflower, all cost $11.

    And the cocktail program, created by Run For The Roses founder Steve Waters, plays with classic libations from regions around the world, like a Peruvian pisco sour, or a twist on a French sidecar. There’s also a tableside martini cart for a whole table to enjoy shaken gin or vodka to order, and a wall of wines that guests are encouraged to peruse for their selection of the night.

    “There are a lot of places closing and opening, and I wanted to provide something that is easy and affordable enough for guests to come here three or four times a week,” Rodriguez said. “You don’t have to order the tomahawk, you can’t get the chicken one day and the ribs the next, but it’s flavorful enough that you keep coming back for more.”

    Staff members work at Carne in Denver on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
    Staff members work at Carne in Denver on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

    The decor resembles an upscale version of Eric Foreman’s basement in “That 70’s Show” with old-school albums, TVs, beaded curtains, murals and funky green and orange tones throughout.

    Lily O'Neill

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