South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s famous Colorado restaurant Casa Bonita is being sued for unfair labor practices by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The Wrap reports a trial date in Denver has been set for December 7 and comes three years after the duo spent tens of millions to renovate and reopen the acclaimed outlet.
The legal action follows a 2025 initiative by performers at Casa Bonita, who include magicians and cliff divers among others, to vote unanimously to join the live performers’ union Actors Equity, as Breitbart News reported.
Strike action followed.
Casa Bonita, the Lakewood restaurant, purchased by the creators of “South Park” Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 2021, renovated for reopening in Lakewood, Colorado on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
The NLRB accuses Casa Bonita of refusing to bargain in good faith with Actors Equity, as well as alleging the venue cut more than 1,000 hours from performers while contract talks were still ongoing.
“This complaint vindicates what the workers have been saying throughout 18 months of bargaining: Casa Bonita would rather play games with their livelihoods than seriously bargain for a fair contract,” said Andrea Hoeschen, general counsel for Actors’ Equity Association, per the Wrap report.
“The NLRB’s complaint should be a wakeup call for the employer, but whether or not they choose to do the right thing, we’re in this for the long haul. We’ll see them back at the bargaining table soon – and then we’ll see them in court.”
Known for its lavish, Mexican themed interiors and live shows, the Wrap report further notes Casa Bonita boasted a cult following among Coloradans since its opening in 1974.
That acclaim expanded nationwide in 2003, when Parker and Stone devoted a famous episode of South Park around it.
Brooke Shields has previously expressed her views on the ongoing labor dispute.
Brooke Shields said she paid a stealth trip to Casa Bonita to protest working conditions. (Raymond Hall/GC Images)
The actress told CNN she used a fake name and went to the Colorado restaurant last March to deliver a letter asking for better wages for the performers who provide live entertainment to guests.
Describing her visit to Casa Bonita as “slightly an ambush,” Shields told CNN, “It’s just so disheartening because [the performers are] putting their lives at risk, and they’re not being looked after.”
She added that she has not heard anything from Stone or Parker amid the negotiations. “It’s just silence, radio silence,” she said.