Denver Grille Workers Get $177,244 Settlement

Denver Labor announced a wage settlement this week for former employees of two closed downtown Denver restaurants. The division of the Denver Auditor’s Office resolved an investigation into unpaid back wages from the 2024 holiday season.

The total settlement amount is $177,244. This sum will be divided among 56 workers who were employed when the restaurants shut down in February 2025. Each worker will receive approximately $2,093. The payout includes the full amount of back pay owed plus an additional 70% in damages.

The investigation targeted the ownership of Wash Park Grille and the adjoining Agave Taco Bar. Matthew Fritz-Mauer, executive director of Denver Labor, stated that the settlement was possible because employees kept personal records. These documents included pay stubs, receipts, and tip logs. The restaurant owners refused to cooperate with the probe and claimed they did not have records for the final pay period.

Jeff Estey and Greg Sauber opened Wash Park Grille in 1997. They added Agave Taco Bar in 2013. The two locations operated on Gaylord Street in the Old South neighborhood for many years. The business structure changed after Sauber died in 2022. His estate sued Estey in 2024 over a succession plan. That lawsuit alleged Estey failed to use life insurance proceeds to buy out Sauber’s shares. The parties settled that dispute shortly before the city seized the properties for over $30,000 in back taxes.

The restaurants briefly reopened during the 2024 holiday season. They closed permanently in February 2025. A new business called Wash Park Social now occupies the building. Several workers filed complaints with Denver Labor after missing their final wages. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment also joined the investigation after receiving similar complaints.

Fritz-Mauer noted that the remaining owner ignored requests for information during the inquiry. The department advised workers to maintain their own records, such as hours logs and tip calculations, because employers sometimes discard these files. Denver Labor reported recovering $2.31 million in back pay and penalties from similar investigations in 2025.