A group of 56 restaurants are calling for Denver’s tipped minimum wage to remain where it is.
“We believe reducing wages for tipped workers would undermine the years of work Denver has done to move toward a fair and equitable wage structure,” the Denver Independent Restaurant Coalition Against Wage Cuts wrote in a letter sent to Denver City Council on Tuesday afternoon.
“Our city has made meaningful progress, and reversing that progress would send the wrong message to workers, small businesses, and the broader community,” the letter says.
The recipients of the message are the only ones who can adjust Denver’s tipped minimum of $16.29 an hour, among the highest in the country. That figure is more than double the $8.08 hourly wage restaurants could pay their workers in 2019, when the city passed an ordinance to start raising minimums.
The letter pushes back against a recently released report, authored by two Denver restaurateurs, detailing the state of the city’s restaurant industry. That report found that increased labor costs are “the most frequently cited challenge” among restaurant owners and the “most destabilizing factor” for Denver’s full-service establishments.
The report also called for the city to return to the state’s tipped minimum wage of $12.14.
But the Coalition Against Wage Cuts says other rising costs should be on the chopping block rather than employee pay.
“Costs are unpredictable, persistent, and increasing across every area of operations,” the letter says. “But the solution cannot be to offset those pressures by reducing pay for workers who are already among the lowest-paid members of our local economy.”
The group cited safety, a “confusing” licensing process, rising rents and unfavorable lease structures as areas riper for the city to fix. They also highlighted a disconnect between Denver’s desire to “cultivate a thriving community of independent businesses and the actual support, incentives, and practical relief available to help them survive.”
“These are the systemic pressures that continue to strain independent restaurants across Denver and deserve thoughtful policy attention,” the letter reads. “We urge you to reject any proposal that would lower wages for tipped workers in Denver.”
Kristen Rauch, the executive director for independent restaurant industry group EatDenver, noted that the majority of the signatories were either limited or counter-service restaurants rather than the full-service sector, which has lost 15% of its jobs since 2019. Some, she added, aren’t located in Denver or don’t take the $3.02 tip credit, which allows restaurants to pay employees below the base minimum wage of $19.29, though they are required to make that amount up if tips don’t get them to that number.
“I’m appreciative of any small business perspective and people advocating for the industry, but we’re looking to represent the whole industry,” Rauch said. Her group, and the sector as a whole, comprises mostly full-service spots.
The coalition’s letter also called into question the validity of the restaurant report authored by Big Red F co-owner Dana Query and Snooze A.M. Eatery founder Adam Schlegel.
“This report was authored by restaurant owners who stand to financially benefit from the very policy changes being discussed,” it reads. “This presents a serious conflict of interest and raises concerns about bias in the policymaking process.”
But Query, whose group operates Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar and The Post in Denver, said she has “no skin in the game.” Her restaurants pool tips and don’t take the tip credit, she said, which means her serving staff is paid a base of at least $19.29.
“We were asked to do it because the city knows it has a problem and wanted to hear from the industry,” she said of how she and Schlegel came to author the report, which was based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of data and interviews with restaurateurs. She and Schlegel said the report was not based on a “single data point or perspective.”
“I don’t benefit from the tipped wage changing at all,” she continued. “Itap misinformation to try and villainize Adam and I.”
Rauch, the EatDenver director, said that, despite the industry report recommendation, dropping the city’s tipped minimum wage to the state’s tipped minimum is not something restaurants want, nor is it on the table for potential city council proposals.
She expects her group to make an official policy endorsement in the coming weeks.
“That was something when we were reviewing and starting conversations,” she said of the reportap recommendation. “But it was pretty much an immediate no.”
The signatories on the letter are Annette Scratch to Table, Aguanile, Art Club Coffee, Bar Max, Capital Thai, Convict Coffee, Copper Door, Corner Beet, Crema, Dio Mio, Easy Vegan, Farang Thai Kitchen, Finn’s Manor, Fort Greene, Ginger Pig, Good Bones Colfax, Hearth Denver, Hi Dive, Hooked on Colfax, Hudson Hill, Johnny Bechamel’s, MAKfam, Maiz Denver, Middlestate Coffee, Monarch Denver, Moon Raccoon Baking Co., Mother Other, Neon Cowboy, Outside Pizza, Peach Crease Club, Portside, Procession Coffee, Queen City Coffee Roasters, Rebel Bread, Redeemer Pizza, Rooster Cat Coffee, Rougarou, Sap Sua, Sesame Sandwiches, Sfoglina, Somebody People, Stella’s Coffee Haus, Stokes Poke, Stowaway Kitchen, The Cake Bar, The Crypt, The Denver Coffee Co, The Pearl, The Wild, Torpedo Coffee, Town Hall Collaborative, Traveling Mercies, Velvet Lasso, Weathervane Cafe, Yacht Club and Yuan Wonton.
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