South Park creators’ restaurant workers go on strike over ‘unfair wages’

The cliff-diving, puppeteering, and gorilla-costumed performers at the South Park creators’ restaurant are hitting the picket line.

Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone bought and renovated Denver’s iconic Casa Bonita restaurant in 2021. The historic pink palace is known for offering a surreal dining experience, complete with roaming characters, arcade games, and a waterfall — but on Halloween, the restaurant will be missing its key players.

Starting Thursday, all 57 workers who entertain guests at the kitschy venue are going on strike after restaurant management reportedly walked away from contract negotiations, according to the Actors’ Equity Association, which represents the entire cast. The performers are fighting for better pay, safety measures, and other benefits.

“Casa management came to the table today offering an additional 11 cents over their last unfair wage offer, and very little for future layoff protections,” lead negotiator Andrea Hoeschen announced Wednesday.

“Despite that insult, the negotiating team responded with major compromises to try to get a deal. And then Casa Bonita walked away from the table without responding.”

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The statement continued, “We know they can pay the wages we're asking for because they already pay basically the same wages to the servers and bartenders. Their insistence on paying DOLLARS an hour less to the performers reflects a choice and a philosophy to devalue performers.”

According to the Living Wage Calculator, an adult living in Denver must make at least $26 per hour to support themselves. The costs are even higher for someone supporting a family. Many Casa Bonita United members only make $21 per hour, according to their bargaining petition.

The performers began contract negotiations in April after voting to unionize last November. Last month, Casa Bonita United filed an unfair labor practices charge against the restaurant after workers’ shifts were drastically cut to accommodate a Halloween pop-up event for the entire month of October.

“At Casa Bonita, we value all of our team members and their well-being. As a policy we do not comment on ongoing labor negotiations,” a spokesperson for the restaurant said in a statement.

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Parker and Stone didn’t immediately return The Independent’s request for comment. Last week, Actors’ Equity Association president Brooke Shields called out the billionaires for the union dispute in a video on Instagram.

“It’s just not respectful to the performers who put their all into making Casa Bonita the one-of-a-kind destination that it is,” Shields said, urging the creators to make a move.

Unionized performers are picketing outside the restaurant starting at 11 a.m. local time Thursday and inviting supporters to join them through Saturday.

The restaurant plans to stay open and offer a free drink or arcade ticket to guests affected by the strike, the Denver Post reported.