After a three-day strike over contracts and wages, Casa Bonita performers returned to work Sunday, but an agreement between the representing union and the famous Lakewood restaurant remains to be seen.

The Mexican-themed restaurant is largely famous for its cliff divers, performers, shows, activities and games.

Over the weekend, outside the pink walls of Casa Bonita, a picket line formed on West Colfax Avenue. One sign read “Fair Wages Now!”

Some union members handed out pink “Casa Bonita United” flyers outlining demands for fair wages, safety, benefits, protections from lay-offs and others.

The strike followed months of conversations between Casa Bonita, its performers and Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing about 60 Casa Bonita performers, like show hosts and cliff divers.

“We have an official agreement to engage in mediation, which presents a real opportunity for productive movement toward a contract,” said lead negotiator Andrea Hoeschen, assistant executive director and general counsel for Actors’ Equity Association, in a statement ending the strike.

The union, when announcing the strike, anticipated it would last three days through Halloween. Picket lines formed between Thursday and Saturday, during Casa Bonita’s special Halloween-themed “Casa Boonita” event.

Saturday, the last day of the Dia de los Muertos-themed decorations, non-striking employees did their best. Each guest was offered either a $10 card for arcade games or an adult beverage. The hosts explained there would be no cliff divers or puppet shows and highlighted the other attractions like Black Bart’s Cave, the merchandise store and the faux jail cell for photos. Free balloon creations were offered at the puppet show theater, and one show did go on — the campy one-performer variety show in the restaurant’s small theater.

Union leaders recently called out South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who, in 2023, purchased the restaurant for $40 million. In November 2024, Casa Bonita performers unionized and demanded fairer wages and better safety practices.

Casa Bonita negotiations with Actors’ Equity Association, since beginning in April, remain ongoing.

“Casa management came to the table today offering an additional 11 cents over their last unfair wage offer, and very little for future layoff protections,” Hoeschen previously said.

“Despite that insult,” she argued, “the negotiating team responded with major compromises to try to get a deal. And then Casa Bonita walked away from the table without responding.”

Casa Bonita previously provided the following statement related to the situation: “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 continues its popular presence in the metro Denver. Providing countless memories to locals since 1974, the restaurant became a viral sensation after being featured in a South Park episode in 2003. Casa Bonita closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, then reopened in 2024, after Parker and Stone helped renovate the historic restaurant.

In ending the temporary strike, Actors’ Equity Association officials said “the halls of the Pink Palace will once again echo with the splashes of divers and the laughter of delighted children as the performers of Casa Bonita return to work following a three-day strike.”

Denver Gazette City Editor Dennis Huspeni contributed to this story.