Why Were Colorado Casa Bonita Employees on Strike?

This past Thursday, October 30, 2025, employees at Colorado’s most famous Mexican restaurant, Casa Bonita, went on strike. However, after just a few days, the strike was called off after it appeared that a solution to their complaints had been agreed upon.

Why Did Employees at Colorado’s Casa Bonita Go on Strike?

Casa Bonita is known not only for being a Mexican restaurant with, as of 2021, great food, but the Colorado staple is more so famous for its cliff diving performances, puppet shows, arcade games, and its overall atmosphere.

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In fact, the restaurant’s owners, who effectively saved the restaurant following the COVID-19 pandemic, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, once referred to it as “the Disneyland of Mexican restaurants” on their popular cartoon. It would be this episode that would catapult Casa Bonita into global fame.

However, according to the performers who are employed at Casa Bonita, things could have been better.

Read More: Casa Bonita: A Denver Gem Saved By South Park Creators

Performers made complaints about making less money than servers, as well as being treated poorly by patrons of the restaurant, more so since the South Park creators took over.

What Ended the Strike at Colorado’s Casa Bonita?

Lead negotiator of the strike, a lawyer with the Actors’ Equity Association, the group under which Casa Bonita’s performers are unionized, Andrea Hoeschen, had this to say with regard to the strike coming to an end:

We have an official agreement to engage in mediation, which presents a real opportunity for productive movement toward a contract. With that in place, we offered an unconditional return to work, effective Sunday, which ends the strike.

One of the restaurant’s performers, a puppeteer named Sam Bishop, also commented on how the local community made the performers feel valued while they carried their pink signs on the picket line.

Check out the full story from The Denverite here.