Casa Bonita Workers to Strike on Halloween

Workers at Casa Bonita, the well-known Denver restaurant and venue created by the minds behind South Park, are set to picket on Halloween. This follows a breakdown in negotiations for a new contract after management reportedly “walked away from the table.”

The Actors Equity Association, which represents various performers including cliff divers and roaming actors, announced the strike this Wednesday. According to ABC Denver 7, the decision to halt work comes after prolonged efforts to address employee safety concerns.

Cast members voted to unionize back in November 2024 and, by August 2025, they had reached a security agreement and commenced contract negotiations with Casa Bonita management. However, in September, the union filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit after performers saw their hours reduced due to a Halloween pop-up event, as reported by The Denver Post.

The Actors Equity Association criticized Casa Bonita for its “unfair wage offer” and for ignoring performers’ safety demands. In a recent report, management claimed the union had “walked away from the bargaining table,” leading to the immediate strike announcement.

Andrea Heschen, the lead negotiator and assistant executive director at Actors Equity, stated that Casa management came to negotiations offering just an additional 11 cents to an already inadequate wage proposal, along with inadequate future layoff protections.

“Despite the underwhelming offer, our team made considerable compromises in hopes of coming to a resolution, but Casa Bonita ultimately walked away without responding,” she explained.

Heschen emphasized, “They are capable of paying the wages we seek, as they already compensate servers and bartenders at similar rates. Their insistence on offering performers a dollar less per hour reflects a troubling philosophy that undermines the value of performers.”

The union members will be on the picket line outside the Lakewood restaurant starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday.