Labor Board accuses Denver’s “Casa Bonita” of unfair practices: trial against the “South Park” creators’ restaurant on December 7

The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a formal complaint against the “Casa Bonita” restaurant in Lakewood, Denver, as BroadwayWorld reports, over unfair labour practices. According to the complaint, management refused to bargain in good faith with the Actors’ Equity union and discriminated against unionised employees through unlawful dismissals, reductions in hours and changes to working conditions. The trial in Denver is set for December 7.

The performers of the legendary restaurant — the divers who leap from 30-foot waterfalls, the magicians, the puppeteers and the mariachis — voted in November 2024 to join Actors’ Equity and have been negotiating ever since. As TheWrap reports, the NLRB accuses the restaurant of cutting more than 1,000 hours of performers’ work while talks were still under way. In September last year the union filed its first complaint over unfair practices, while the performers went on strike at Halloween, NRN writes.

In July, Actors’ Equity president, actress Brooke Shields, personally visited “Casa Bonita” and expressed support for the employees seeking better pay and conditions. “This complaint vindicates what the workers have been saying throughout 18 months of negotiations,” said the union’s general counsel, Andrea Hoeschen, warning that the case will also continue in court.

“Casa Bonita”, opened in 1974 and known as “the Disneyland of Mexican restaurants”, was bought in 2021 by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, after the previous owners went bankrupt. The pair invested tens of millions of dollars in a renovation and reopened the restaurant in 2023.