This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Casa Bonita restaurant in Lakewood, Colo., just outside of Denver, long has been known for its novel entertainment.
Sure, it has Mexican food. But it also has cliff divers, who dive from indoor perches into an indoor pool stories below. There also are roaming mariachi musicians, and there have been actors in various costumes who entertained children.
It's more that 50 years old, given its entire history, but it went dark during COVID only to be resurrected by South Park multimillionaires Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who reportedly turned over cash by the tens of millions to unlock its doors again.
Many of the traditional features are there, but the prices have exploded to some $30 a meal now.
But its latest fight is over what it pays those actors who provide the show for patrons.
There have been negotiations going on for some time, and restaurant officials said they don't comment.
But actress Brooke Shields, of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "The Blue Lagoon" did.
She called out the wealthy owners for not paying their employees a "living wage."
On social media, she said, "Hey Matt and Trey, nice to meet you. As you know, I'm the president of Actors' Equity Association, the union that represents the performers who work for you at Casa Bonita. You probably know that we've been in bargaining for their first union contract for quite a while now. But maybe you don't know that your restaurant management has been playing really fast and loose with this bargaining process and it's just not respectful to the performers who put their all into making Casa Bonita the one-of-a-kind destination that it is and that you've created.
"And things are kind of escalating. And I just want to say that these workers are not making a living wage- like actually not. And, in fact, they are being paid less than their coworkers who are actually serving the food, and you know, that's before you factor in tips. So, they've not only been hard at work entertaining Casa Bonita guests and spending their volunteer hours in bargaining – they've also been putting their names on a petition. So, I hope you see their petition, and I do hope you take it seriously, and take seriously their requests for you to accept the proposed contract so that we can all put this chapter way behind us. Because without the performers who bring Casa Bonita to life, it's just a big, pink restaurant. It's time to do the right thing. Please agree to a fair contract, and please enable these performers to focus on providing the world-class experience that Casa Bonita's guests expect and deserve and help them get it."
A report from a local Fox outlet said Shields, "called out" the rich owners.
A strike has been authorized by the Actors' Equity Association, at the discretion of their lead negotiator, the report said.
A petition from workers was also promoted.
"The petition said that since performers voted to unionize in November 2024, the association and Casa Bonita management have been in negotiations since April, and the majority of workers on the contract have stated that they support a strike," the report said.
The restaurant also has been accused of cutting more than 1,000 hours from the employees, and has refused to respond to concerns about worker safety.
