New York —
This March, actress Brooke Shields made a reservation at a Mexican restaurant in Denver called Casa Bonita under a fake name — but not to avoid paparazzi.
It was so the restaurant’s management team and owners Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who are also the creators of “South Park,” wouldn’t know she was coming.
“The place is so big it took a while for management to realize we were there,” Shields told CNN. “And then word got out because, you know, I didn’t have a hat on and mustache or anything,” she said.
She was there to deliver a letter asking for better wages for Casa Bonita’s performers. The restaurant doesn’t just serve Mexican cuisine; performers provide entertainment from breakfast to dinner. Cliff divers jump and twirl into a blue lagoon, puppeteers put on tableside shows and magicians make the rounds. The live entertainment is why so many people know Casa Bonita.
But in April 2024, for the first time, Casa Bonita’s performers unionized, with about 80 of them represented by Actors’ Equity, led by Shields.
Shields said she’s escalating after prolonged negotiations over not just pay, but fundamental safety issues.
“It was slightly an ambush… you try doing things respectfully, and then you’re not met with equal respect… so you have to resort to other tactics,” said Shields, of her visit to Casa Bonita.
Since April of last year, Shields and Casa Bonita performers have been locked in negotiations with management. The group is asking for better protections for performers who say they got hypothermia and chlorine toxicity from the diving pool, as well as security for costumed performers who say they have been grabbed sexually by patrons. The group is also asking for a raise to bring them more in line with the servers, who they say make more. The union says it’s already made concessions at the bargaining table but with little offered in return to improve current conditions and wages.
Casa Bonita’s management said in a statement to CNN that “we value all of our team members and their well-being. As a policy we do not comment on ongoing labor negotiations.”
Parker and Stone did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Not sure what to think about all of this, but I will say its not the owners’ fault that patrons sometimes sexually grab performers… like, some people are just fucking assholes.
I worked as a server and bartender for a few years, and it happened to me (and other girls) more than I’d like to remember. But it was by no means encouraged by the owners/management, and if any of us ever did say something in the moment (or other workers saw it), it would be handled immediately. It’s an unfortunate reality of being a woman (not to say it doesn’t happen to men as well).
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It’s not their fault that it happens, but failing to act on it is like inviting that kind of behaviour. When I was a restaurant manager I had a talk to anyone being rude to my staff. It didn’t happen often and they always apologized so no need for further action but not standing up for your staff is totally on the manager and it spills on Matt and Trey for failing to address it.
I’m a huge fan of theirs and I really hope they take control of the situation. Sure they didn’t see the renovation costs would end up this big but I don’t think they went into restaurant business to make money.
Anyone who has been a fan of South Park knows about this place - an absolute classic episode, and I was so happy when I heard these guys were buying and renovating the joint. Yes, it’s been a huge money-sink for them so far, but they can afford it more than most restaurateurs.
Have reservations in September, been looking forward to visiting since Matt and Trey bought it. I’m hoping things are better for everyone by then and I definitely want to support this place, but I won’t be crossing any picket lines…
I live in Colorado and have been a few times, if you went before Parker/Stone bought it and after, you can see they did an excellent job restoring it and keeping the same vibe.
They even added a little museum showing the storied history of the venue with some things they found during the renovation, which was kinda interesting to look through.
The food is also significantly better. No more plastic-looking cheese and taco-bell tier ground beef.
I had the taco salad when I went fwiw.
The head chef there is from a great local place called Work and Class. I know the food should be good, but after seeing the Mi Amore documentary I knew there may be problems with the staff. Trey Parker kinda just changed the theming and script on a whim, and I know it was in the early stages, but it still gave me a negative feeling.
How do you get hypothermia and/or any toxicity from a pool you dive into only once an hour?
I mean the high divers aren’t lounging in the water or diving constantly every 10 min.
Should the water be room temp or warmer? With no chlorine? Possibly, piped from the bathroom? Would more pay suddenly make the exact same pool comfy?
How would Brooke Shields solve the problem having seen this awful tragedy first hand?
Something tells me nobody here has all the details to have an informed opinion on any of this.
The power move here would be making an episode about two funny dudes who end up getting blind sided by money, buy a for fun restoration project and not realizing that they’re not the good guys anymore. Bonus points if the episode ends with them doing a 360 and meeting union demands.
Is this the Brooke Shields?
why this person is famous eludes me.
She was on The Muppet Show one time when Jim Henson was still running it.
I think it probably is, and although I support what she’s doing here, I can’t hear Brooke Shields and South Park in the same breath without remembering this moment.
that was worth it
What luck! Fantastic!
Company fucked with the wrong worker⸮
Could be true, could be an deliberate attack due to comedy not found funny by the current oligarchy, who knows.
I live in Denver and this has been an ongoing thing since Casa Bonita reopened, before the 2nd Trump regime and the latest season of South Park.
Stone and Parker seemed to be heavily involved with the renovation but seem to take a mostly hands off approach to the day to day management. Andrew Carnegie took similar action during labor disputes, letting others handle the dirty work while he fucked off to Scotland so he could appear to be outside of the issue.
I always liked Stone and Parker, I don’t know what their thoughts are but it’s not the best look. And to be fair, they are a bunch of “richers”
Thanks for the clarification and additonal info. I’m not from the area and unfortunately, I think the current U.S. leadership is capable of anything.
Another question: Why does it feel like every celebrity thinks they have to open a restaurant? I mean, it’s not like they’re all known for their phenomenal cooking skills…
Another question: Why does it feel like every celebrity thinks they have to open a restaurant? I mean, it’s not like they’re all known for their phenomenal cooking skills…
Think of this place more as a live performance venue that puts on shows for families bringing their kids, that also happens to serve mediocre Mexican food. It was beloved for its personality and quirkiness, and lots of people in Colorado have fond childhood memories there, even if the core concept doesn’t really hold up to adult standards. It was featured in a pretty good episode of South Park, back when it was completely unaffiliated with the South Park creators, kinda as an inside joke for Colorado residents.
The original restaurant filed for bankruptcy in the middle of the COVID pandemic. So with their assets up for sale, the South Park creators, who had a ton of money from a big deal with Paramount, outbid everyone else, and said that they wanted to basically keep the core theme going, out of nostalgia. That meant live performances and keeping the themed decor. The messaging around that time was that they were going to try to run it long term as it was originally envisioned, with an influx of cash, rather than doing the more common thing of cutting costs and trying to extract all remaining value out of a dying carcass.
So no, they’re not trying to open a restaurant. They’re running a different type of nostalgia-based business that happens to serve food.
Thanks for the additional information. The concept of entertainment restaurants is new to me because I haven’t come across them where I live.
It does indeed sound as if the accusations are justified and the saying “Money corrupts character” is accurate (though that’s actually nonsense—after all, I don’t know what the two of them were/are like in private).
