DENVER — The Colorado Restaurant Association says Denver’s minimum wage increases are partly to blame for the recent wave of restaurant struggles and closures hitting the Mile High City.
For the past year and a half, Matias Gutknecht has been serving drinks and meals at his Five Points restaurant, Taco Uprising.
“It's been over 10 years in the making,” he said of his dream to open up the restaurant alongside co-owner Samuel Valdez, “I just wanted to be a small part of the fabric of kind of the reactivation of the corridor.”
When Taco Uprising opened its doors on Welton Street, Gutknecht and Valdez stayed busy with the constant flow of customers.
But he says business has been slowing down over the past few months.
Just this week, the restaurant posted on social media asking for support in its fight to keep its doors open.
“This year has been very tough, and that's true for a lot of businesses on the corridor, especially restaurants and in general across Denver,” said Gutknecht.
Over the past couple of years, Denver7 has told you about other places along Welton Street that have closed, such as Coffee at the Point, Moods Beats Potions, and Melody Market.
Factors include minimum wage increases and higher operating costs.
Denver7 contacted the Colorado Restaurant Association for a pulse check on Denver eateries.
“The past several years have been incredibly challenging for Colorado restaurants, as they’ve had to absorb minimum wage increases on top of soaring costs for food, liquor, property taxes, rent, credit-card swipe fees, utilities, and more,” said Colorado Restaurant Association CEO Sonia Riggs, “Using the capital as an example, Denver’s tipped minimum wage has risen almost 90% since 2019 and the non-tipped minimum wage is up almost 65%, leaving area operators with less and less in an industry with historically thin margins. Sustainability is a real issue.”
According to state data, Colorado lost 222 restaurants between December 2023 and March 2024
More than 180 restaurants shut down between the summers of 2023 and 2024. Denver alone accounts for 82% of statewide losses.
"[It's] a trend that underscores how minimum wage increases are impacting area businesses," said Riggs.
To compare, before the pandemic – the number of restaurants in Denver grew by 3% to 5% yearly.
“It's just - the odds are against small businesses and restaurants to succeed in the city right now,” said Gutknecht.
He adds that if customers don’t come in, Taco Uprising could join the growing list of Five Points restaurants closing their doors.
But for now, he says he will continue to fight to stay afloat in the neighborhood he loves.
“Our staff, we have an incredible team. We love them. We couldn't succeed without them, and obviously, we want to keep going for them, as well as ourselves,” he said.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.