COLORADO: Inflation closes our favorite restaurants.

“It’s something that we’ve seen statewide,” said Colin Larson, director of affairs for the Colorado Restaurant Association, as quoted by Fox 21 News in Colorado Springs.

Restaurateurs — those holding on and those closing their doors — say inflation is crushing them and their customers. Restaurants can’t find food supplies at prices affordable to consumers who have less to spend because of inflation affecting other goods and services they need.

No state has suffered more restaurant inflation in the past year than Colorado, which saw a whopping increase of 24% in 2023 based on U.S. Census Bureau data. For average wage earners, eating out is no longer an option.

This is not a slight increase relative to the rest of the country. While prices at Colorado restaurants increased 24%, they decreased by 6% in Alaska. Florida’s restaurant prices decreased by 2%, Hawaii’s by 3% and Tennessee’s by 5%.

The cause for Colorado’s problem is no mystery. Only seven states have a higher nontip minimum wage mandates than Colorado’s $14.42. Denver’s minimum is a whopping $18.29. Few states, if any, have imposed more rules and restrictions on small employers.

The economic beatings will continue until conditions improve.