Sonia Riggs, the newly minted president and CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association, held her own amidst the cacaphonous crowd of state legislators and CRA members that gathered at The Brown Palace Wednesday night for the annual Blue Ribbon Legislative Reception.
The crowded ballroom at The Brown almost felled the petite Riggs as she took the podium at the annual sip, snack and schmooze soiree. But, aided by “quiet” signs held up around the room, Riggs grasped the crowd with these words:
“Restaurants and hotels are the cornerstone of Colorado’s economy. The restaurant industry in Colorado alone will generate over 10 billion dollars in sales this year. This generates over 695 million dollars in state and local sales taxes and Colorado restaurants will employ roughly 264,200 employees in 10,878 establishments.
“It takes only a slight change in the laws to turn a profitable restaurant into an unprofitable business. We ask you to keep that in mind during this year’s legislative session…”
Plied with food and liquor, the legislators listened. Participating restaurants that supplied the eats were Chowder Room, The Airplane Restaurant, The Broadmoor, The Fresh Fish Company, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Lala’s Wine Bar & Pizzeria, Mangia Bevi Café, Metro State University Denver, Off Sixteenth Restaurant at The Crowne Plaza, Outback Steakhouse, Range, Seattle Fish Company, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Tamayo, Tana’s Delights and Texas Roadhouse.
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