Former Wash Park Grille employees awarded backpay, damages after Denver restaurant withheld final paychecks

Employees of a once-popular Denver restaurant, Wash Park Grille, are finally receiving unpaid wages and damages. Dozens of employees were not paid their final paychecks after the restaurant abruptly closed its doors due to unpaid taxes in February of 2025.

According to the Denver Auditor's Labor Division, the restaurant and bar industry in general is at high risk for wage violations. And because of CBS Colorado's previous reporting on the situation at Wash Park Grille, an employee we spoke with was able to connect with the Labor Division to eventually get justice. 

"I was barely above water," Tyler McDonald explained. 

CBS Colorado first met McDonald after the restaurant closed. McDonald, who served there for two-and-a-half years, fell into financial hardship and was out of a job. The Grille refused to pay him and his coworkers their final paychecks. 

"Busy season is over, not a lot of places are hiring, so that was a struggle for me," he said. 

After interviewing McDonald and Denver Labor's executive director, Matthew Fritz-Mauer last year. Denver Labor stepped in to help. Each year the division collects about $2 million for Denver workers who didn't get paid appropriately. In this case, 56 Wash Park Grille employees have now been awarded a little over $117,000 combined.

"I didn't really know about the Denver Labor until I had that interview," said McDonald. "Matthew was on the interview as well, and I was like, he seems very confident - I'm going to put all of my effort into it, even if I just get paid what I'm owed."

"In the end, we wound up collecting everyone's unpaid wages plus around 70% of those wages as damages on top," said Fritz-Mauer.

The money was disbursed over the course of the last few months; now, more than a year later, McDonald says the burden has finally been lifted. 

"That helps me pay off all my credit card debt, pay back my parents' rent, pay... you know, pretty much everything that I was struggling for so long with," he said. 

Wash Park Grille has since been replaced by Wash Park Social, and McDonald says he's since moved out of Denver for a fresh start. He's also landed a new job in the service industry.