Posted inNews

What’s behind next year’s 9% minimum wage increase in Denver and Colorado

At The Preservery, a neighborhood eatery in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood, the cost of food and other expenses has gone up at least 20% since the pandemic. Rent is higher. There are also additional costs to boost job openings online, which has “for sure” added 60% to recruitment expenses, said co-owner Whitney Ariss. But faced with […]

Posted inNews

How a Colorado McDonald’s weathered the Great Resignation with fiesta-themed birthday parties

Tucked in the corner of Longmont, the classic yellow sign seems like any other McDonald’s. The waft of french fries, bustling employees and children running for the playpen. But step inside, and you’ll be greeted with fiesta decorations and birthday cakes.  The so-called Great Resignation took a toll on fast-food restaurants all over Colorado, and […]

Posted inBusiness, Economy, News

What’s Working: There are more job openings than Coloradans on unemployment. Matchmaking isn’t easy.

The pandemic has created an out-of-balance workforce, and there could be more big changes next month. On one hand, somewhere around 100,000 Coloradans will stop receiving weekly unemployment checks after Sept. 4, when federal pandemic benefits end. On the other, thousands of employers are trying to fill 126,773 jobs, the state’s official job board showed […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Silverman: Look closely, stop and listen, and you can find the heart of Denver

Where is the heart of Denver? A case can be made for Confluence Park. Perhaps the Capitol. Maybe the City and County Building. Locating any city’s thoroughfare named Broadway is usually a clue. My skyscraper window at 1600 Broadway faces southwest and directly across Broadway at Colorado’s wildest McDonald’s. I’ve visited for French fries a […]

Posted inBusiness, Economy, News

Supply chain problems — from salsa to sheet metal — are hampering Colorado businesses’ coronavirus recovery

Salsa -maker Amy Lasley used to throw away the disposable gloves she wears during food preparation. But as the price of nitrile gloves skyrocketed in recent months, she’s started to disinfect them with bleach and reuse them for cleaning outside the kitchen.  Other items are more expensive, too: The glass jars she packs her salsa […]

Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Nicolais: They almost killed Casa Bonita! South Park creators aim to come to the rescue

Casa Bonita should be every bit as eternal as the gastrointestinal suffering it has caused over the past 50 years. Yet, just as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered other Colorado eateries, it closed the iconic restaurant last year. Free tours of the paradise/hellscape within the apropos Pepto Bismol-pink tower persist and the arcade is open, but […]