22-02-2025
New measure looks to cut pay for some restaurant workers
DENVER (KDVR) — State lawmakers are considering an idea to lower the pay for thousands of restaurant workers in an effort to save establishments from closing.
The piece of legislation has been dubbed the 'Restaurant Relief Act' because it aims to cut costs for restaurants across Denver, Edgewater and Boulder County.
Parker the Snow Dog, Georgetown's honorary mayor, dies in crash
In those three areas, the minimum wage is higher than it is in the rest of the state. Those are the areas where about 21,000 bartenders and servers stand to see a decrease in their base wage.
'Currently when someone is a tipped employee we can pay them $3.02 below minimum wage,' said Chrissy Strowmatt, general manager of the Blue Bonnet restaurant in Denver.
In Denver, the minimum wage is $18.81. Tipped workers are guaranteed $15.79 per hour plus tips. If they do not make enough tips to bring their earnings up to the city's $18.81 rate, employers must pay the difference. However, Strowmatt said those instances are rare.
'They're making anywhere between 35 dollars an hour up to 45 dollars an hour with their tips,' she said. 'They make more than the managers do.'
The new proposal would flatten the minimum hourly wage for all tipped restaurant workers across the state to $11.79, which is the current minimum rate for tipped restaurant workers outside of Denver, Edgewater and Boulder County.
Employers could still choose to pay their staff above the minimum rate.
'Four dollars an hour is a substantial pay cut in a city that costs continue to way surpass inflation. The unpredictability in tips can not account for this loss, has not and thousands will suffer for it,' restaurant server Laurie Brown said.
Brown is one of dozens of people who spoke in opposition of the measure during Thursday's lengthy hearing on the bill.
'This bill isn't about supporting restaurants. It's about keeping wages low and making it harder for tipped workers to thrive,' Alejandro Flores Munoz, owner of Combi Taco & Stokes Poke said during the hearing.
Meanwhile, Strowmatt said Blue Bonnet is one of many local businesses struggling to keep its doors open.
'We're at a breaking point. We're dying,' she said.
The restaurant has laid off staff, cut all service on Mondays and raised prices to try and stay afloat.
'I can't charge $25 for two tacos and rice and beans. Like, I can't do that. So something's got to give,' she said.
Look inside this $6M modern castle for sale in Douglas County
Strowmatt said the Restaurant Relief Act feels like it's their only hope.
'The last thing we want to do is take money from the servers. That is the last thing we want to do,' she said. 'When the restaurant's closed, nobody's got a job and everybody's in trouble so we really don't have any other options.'
After a five-hour committee hearing at the state capitol on Thursday, lawmakers voted 11-2 to advance the measure for further consideration.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
