Colorado restaurants are hungry for help. How one program is helping to feed that need

There’s so much going on behind the scenes when you sit down at a restaurant. In the back of the house, cooks are rushing to prep, cook and plate your food. Dishwashers are trying to keep pace with those cooks — and hungry diners. In the front of the house, the servers are sweating, too. They’re deciphering complex requests, running through mazes of tables, chairs, and people, to deliver your dish without a hitch. And finding people to do this work has gotten tough. Beyond the frenzied nature of the job, long hours and physical demands, inflation is hitting the industry hard. In August, Colorado saw the sharpest restaurant inflation in the country. 

Laura Shunk, president of the nonprofit Colorado Restaurant Foundation, says this is stressing almost every aspect of the restaurant industry. “If you've noticed that menu prices are going up, it's because every cost in the restaurant is going up,” Shunk said. A key part of Shunk’s work is helping restaurateurs find solutions to these challenges. She told us about Colorado ProStart, a program bridging the gap between an industry hungry for good people and students who want a career in food and hospitality, but might not have the means or knowledge to get there.

We mention a tasting event in Fort Collins on Wednesday, November 15 with Northern Colorado restaurants and breweries that benefits Colorado ProStart programs in Weld and Larimer counties.