It’s official – Casa Bonita United workers are on strike, per an announcement from the group. The strike stems from months of debate with the popular restaurant over contract concerns, with wages being a key aspect of that conversation.

“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,” said lead negotiator Andrea Hoeschen, assistant executive director and general counsel for Actors’ Equity Association. “Despite that insult, the negotiating team responded with major compromises to try to get a deal. And then Casa Bonita walked away from the table without responding.”

The statement from Casa Bonita United states that servers and bartenders are paid the wages that performers are asking for.

A first round of picket lines will reportedly be present on October 30, October 31, and November 1 – which will be during Casa Bonita’s special Halloween-themed ‘Casa Boonita’ event.

KDVR reports that Casa Bonita 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.”

The full bargaining petition can be found here, which notes that a ‘living wage calculator’ for Denver indicates “over $30 per hour” is a local living wage, while some members of Casa Bonita United make only $21 per hour. Per the petition, Casa Bonita offered a 3% wage increase over two years. The petition also addresses concerns with the lack of an emergency plans should a performance go wrong or another safety incident occur. Among other topics discussed in the petition are protection from lay-offs, scheduling and paid-time-off concerns, and the attendance policy.

Casa Bonita has long-been a much-hyped restaurant in the Denver metro area, located in Lakewood. It grew to a viral sensation after being featured in a South Park episode in 2003, closing during the pandemic and then reopening in 2024 after extensive renovations by new owners Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park.