A Colorado mountain town is facing a raft of restaurant closures, leaving locals devastated.
Colorado Springs, with the picturesque backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, is loved by its outdoorsy residents as much for its scenery as its variety of local businesses.
But now the town, which is 70 miles from Denver, is losing many of its long-standing restaurants that have served as staples of the community.
Among the victims has been Mountain Shadows Restaurant in Old Colorado City, a quaint neighborhood of Colorado Springs.
In October another business, Cy’s Drive-in on the west side, closed after the owner was asked by the landlord to move by the end of the year, KRDO reported.
Munchies 719 in downtown Colorado Springs is next on the chopping block, and will close its doors at the end of the year.
Its owners told KRDO that they are seeing fewer customers in the downtown area than they once did.
Data from the town’s Downtown Business Association shows a 1.61 percent downturn in foot traffic in the area since 2023.
Cy’s Drive-in on the west side of town closed for good in October
More businesses, including Mark Anthony’s Pretzels and FH Beerworks, are also shutting up shop at the end of the year.
‘Small businesses are struggling all over Colorado Springs,’ Chuck Thomas, whose wife owns Munchies 719, told the local publication.
‘Go support local or there will be no local,’ Thomas argued.
‘I sunk everything into the restaurant and I don’t have any more to sink into it,’ Kasie Swain, the owner of Mountain Shadows, explained.
Swain began working at Mountain shadows in 1993, just a year after it opened.
She described her ascent up the ladder as a ‘Cinderella story,’ and she eventually became its owner.
‘I couldn’t have told you that was going to happen ever. This was supposed to be for my grandkids,’ she said of the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to close.
‘Everything’s just going up, it’s killing us,’ Swain said.
Mountain Shadows Restaurant in Old Colorado City has also shut up shop this year
Munchies 719 in downtown Colorado Springs is closing its doors at the end of the year
Colorado Springs was recently named the top housing market for 2025 by Realtor.com
‘Every payroll, you’re like, «I’m going down. I’m going down really fast.» So just being able to pay your employees and being able to keep the staff here, it’s been kind of a struggle,’ she said.
‘It just keeps piling on every time you raise wages or add a new tax or whatever, it’s this huge trickle down,’ Kathy Micci, owner of Cy’s Drive-in, agreed.
‘I was hoping to sell it and be able to retire. However, my landlord decided for me that that was not an option any longer.’
And payroll costs are unlikely to slow for employers, as twenty-three states will raise their minimum wages in 2025.
Among those states is Colorado, which will raise its base rate from $14.42 to $14.81 next year.
Some experts have warned the hikes could force companies to drive up consumer prices even further.
‘Minimum wage increases add to a general cocktail of cost increases faced by retailers. In response many will have to increase prices, even if only marginally,’ retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data told DailyMail.com.
‘In a labor intensive industry like retail, even small increases can bite. There will be a consequence in terms of lower profits, higher prices, reduced investment, or cost cutting,’ Saunders added.
Despite its business woes, Colorado Springs was recently named the top housing market for 2025 by Realtor.com.
Analysis by Realtor.com argued that Colorado Springs was primed for growth in the year ahead because of its moderately affordable homes, abundant inventory and sizable base of younger families.
