2025 State of Denver Restaurants: Challenges Facing the Sector

The Denver restaurant sector is responsible for 1 in 12 local jobs and contributes 13% of the city's sales tax. Denver’s restaurants anchor neighborhoods and shape the city’s reputation nationally. But rising costs, regulatory burdens and public safety issues have created an unsustainable operating environment. This is especially pressing for full-service and independent restaurants, which remain cultural and economic cornerstones for the city.

In 2025, The Denver Restaurant Liaison Project was launched as a collaborative effort of Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO), Visit Denver and inKind to identify the obstacles operators face and offer actionable recommendations for how the city can foster growth and sustainability for this vital sector. This initiative demonstrates the city’s willingness, under Mayor Mike Johnston’s leadership, to hear the collective voice of restaurant operators through meaningful engagement. The culmination of this work is now available in the 2025 State of Denver Restaurants: Challenges Facing the Sector.

The work that went into this report was extensive and inclusive. The collaborative held 50 one-on-one interviews. More than 150 restaurants were represented in roundtable discussions and approximately 160 restaurants were surveyed. Additionally, over 80 restaurants' data was used in case studies and nearly 50 restaurants are represented in the three case studies. The surveys were conducted in English, Vietnamese and Spanish and included quick-service, full-service, independent, multi-unit and minority-owned restaurants in Denver. Additional findings came from observations at key business corridors, discussions with commercial brokers and reviewing national and regional datasets.

In the following pages, this executive summary offers a high-level overview of the persistent challenges, from wage increases paired with no tip credit adjustments, to rising rents and taxes, permitting delays, and public conditions impacting customer behavior and worker safety.

These challenges presented are not insurmountable. Rebalancing wage financing while maintaining high wage standards, streamlining regulatory processes, improving affordability and bolstering public safety are interventions not only to preserve what exists but to set the stage for a vibrant, diverse, and resilient restaurant sector moving forward. Restaurant operators are not asking for deregulation or a rollback of worker protections, but for clear, proportionate systems grounded in economic reality, enabling sustainable planning, hiring and investing.

This document is a high-level summary of the larger body of work. It is intended to be a point of entry for 2025 State of Denver Restaurants: Challenges Facing the Sector, which must be read in its entirety. The State of Denver Restaurants is the industry’s collective voice, and a comprehensive resource that can guide coordinated action among all stakeholders, for the good of the sector and the City.

Adam Schlegel, Cumulus Etc.
Dana Faulk Query

Dana Faulk Query

Dana Faulk Query is co-owner of Big Red F Restaurant Group, which operates Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, The Post, Centro Mexican Kitchen and several other concepts. As a nonprofit leader, she has served on the boards of Zero Foodprint, Boulder County Farmers Market, National Association of Asian American Professionals, Downtown Boulder Partnership and others.

Adam Schlegel

Adam Schlegel is a long-time restaurateur and food and beverage consultant through Cumulus, Etc LLC. Adam is the co-founder of Snooze A.M. Eatery and Chook Chicken and has served on the boards of Colorado Health Foundation, Visit Denver, Colorado Restaurant Response and others. He also led the Denver Public Market initiative working to align food and agriculture alignment throughout Colorado.