By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
A Colorado restaurant industry battered by increasing costs and regulations will ask legislators Thursday to help it in a way that officials believe can make a huge difference — reducing wage requirements on its already highly compensated bartending and wait staff.
In doing so, groups like the Colorado Restaurant Association will find themselves in a decidedly different position than they’ve occupied for several years, when they’ve rallied sector workers to fend off proposed regulations like the 2023 “Fair Workweek” bill. And in seeking proactive help, they’ve amassed a coalition that includes both conservative small-government Republicans and liberal pro-labor Democrats who believe the existing stream of eatery closings will grow into a raging flood if something is not done.