Secret Garden Bar & Café in Denver closes, owners say "unrelated to employee unionization"

Twenty-two workers have been displaced after the Secret Garfen Bar and Cafe in Denver abruptly shut down. Restaurant employees accuse management of union-busting, while owners cite financial losses.

Secret Garden Bar & Café CBS

Workers at the Secret Garden Bar and Café say they were blindsided by the restaurant's sudden closure — just one day before contract talks were set to begin and nine days before the café's scheduled Oct. 19 shutdown.

The closure displaced 22 employees, many of whom rallied outside the café this past weekend, calling for fair treatment after they said they were unexpectedly let go on Friday morning.

"Instead of showing up to the bargaining table, they decided we would rather close shop," one employee said.

"They claimed it was due to financial reasons — but th