Guests who dine at the Casa Bonita will not be asked to tip on their meals and drinks, challenging the conventional service industry model in Denver and beyond.
The Lakewood landmark made its highly anticipated reopening to the public on June 23, offering locals the chance to buy tickets that include a meal. Tickets cost $39.99 for adults and $24.99 for kids ages 3 to 12. Kids under 3 are free.
Higher-ups made the decision to eliminate tips — and raise the service staff’s base pay — after a soft opening period during which “we found guests simply weren’t tipping,” according to an emailed statement from Casa Bonita management.
“We believe that’s due to our unconventional, pre-pay ticketing system,” the statement said.
Staff were notified just days before the reopening. According to contracts reviewed by The Denver Post, Casa Bonita originally was planning to pay bartenders $14.27 an hour plus tips. That was amended to a flat fee of $30 an hour without tips, according to a contract dated June 21.
“In order to provide a higher-than-average, dependable wage, we shifted to a no-tipping model and doubled the hourly rate to more than $30/hr for our service staff. This shift also benefits our guests, who can enjoy Casa Bonita without incurring unexpected costs,” management said.
The change suggests that Casa Bonita will continue to charge an all-inclusive price for meals, which are picked up in a cafeteria-style line upon entry, when it fully opens its doors to the public in the future. The price includes unlimited sopapillas and chips and salsa, as well as bottomless fountain drinks. Alcoholic beverages such as beer and cocktails and desserts beyond sopapillas like flan cost extra.
During a recent visit, a Denver Post reporter was not able to tip on alcoholic drinks purchased at the bar or from a dining room table; the receipts did not offer a space to do so and one bartender said the tip was “baked in” to the price.
According to the statement, 93 of Casa Bonita’s 256 employees, including table attendants (i.e. servers), bussers and bartenders, were affected by the change to the tipping model.
The iconic pink palace’s re-debut comes more than three years after it closed due to COVID-19. During that timeframe, the restaurant filed for bankruptcy and was purchased by “South Park” TV show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who sunk a reported $40 million into “restoring” the eatertainment venue.
In recent weeks, Casa Bonita began hosting soft openings complete with cliff divers and a brand-new food menu crafted by James Beard-nominated chef Dana Rodriguez. Though the cafeteria-style pickup for food remains, the offerings have been revamped to include eight items such as chicken mole, enchiladas, taco salad and carnitas. All the tortillas are now made in-house.
Though the restaurant is considered open to the public, the only way to buy tickets is to be invited to do so through the restaurant’s email list. It has not yet been announced when or if Casa Bonita will begin welcoming walk-ups.
