The Hard Truth of Denver’s Uniquely High Minimum Wage

Minimum wage in Denver is going up again in January, and the number of restaurants is going down. While Denver’s restaurant community boasts a brand new Michelin star as of last week, more and more restauranteurs are leaving the Mile High in pursuit of greener pastures. So what exactly is happening that’s making it so hard to run a great restaurant here? The Colorado Restaurant Association’s CEO Sonia Riggs and government affairs director Colin Larson join host Bree Davies to talk about how Denver’s unique minimum wage laws affect the restaurant business, why services fees probably aren’t a cure-all and some of the reasons behind that mediocre $20 cheeseburger.

Starting Jan. 1, Denver’s minimum wage will be $18.81 per hour for non-tipped workers, up from $18.29, and $15.79 per hour for tipped workers, providing that they earn $3.02 in tips. The City of Denver has a breakdown of why our minimum wage is going up again this year. 

Bree quoted this great article in the Denver Post by Allyson Reedy: “Overpriced Denver restaurants need a reality check for their inedible chicken and $20 cocktails.”

For further listening, we talked about the real value to be found at one of Denver’s Michelin star winners and broke down last week’s announcement of new Michelin winners. 

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