Recent minimum wage hikes in Denver have forced the popular restaurant to make difficult changes such as shortening the hours of operation to just breakfast and lunch only and reducing staff levels from 35 to 27. While the minimum wage increase hurt, LuKanic mentioned that the real culprit was the increase in wages for tip employees that came along with it. She said, “Since I’ve owned Zorba’s, I’ve yet to have a server leave with less than $100 in tips on any given day, and it’s frequently double that. And keep in mind, we’re a humble little diner. What full-service restaurateurs take issue with is that we are being forced to pay our tipped employees more, even though they are already the highest-paid employees on the staff.”
Business Profile
Chef Zorba’s Authentic Greek Cuisine
-Westworld (link)