Atomic Provisions — the company that owns local restaurant chain Atomic Cowboy — will pay more than $800,000 to current and former employees who filed a class action lawsuit against the company, according to court records.
The restaurant group is owned by founder Drew Shader. The company operates multiple Denver Biscuit Co. and Fat Sully’s locations in Colorado, Kansas, and, formerly, one location in Missouri.
The lawsuit was filed in Denver district court in 2024 by Andrew Barili on behalf of himself and the other plaintiffs. Barili worked at Atomic Cowboy’s Centennial location from April 2022 to 2024, when he was fired.
Barili and the other plaintiffs claimed Atomic Provisions committed multiple wage violations against “hundreds” of employees. The suit accused Atomic Provisions of knowingly failing to pay employees for overtime work and wrongly paying the tipped minimum wage for employees who were not actually getting tips. (Read more about the drama around the tipped minimum wage law here).
The suit also alleged the company didn’t give employees paid breaks during shifts, which are mandated by law. Barili also claimed he was retaliated against because he was fired from Atomic Cowboy after he “expressed concerns about the Defendant’s wage and hour policies,” according to the court filing.
Another main plaintiff, Lauren Lucero, also filed an earlier lawsuit against the company in 2023 in a federal district court that covers western Missouri. The case was dismissed and Lucero was named as another main plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by Barili.
Atomic Provisions denies all allegations of violating workers’ rights but agreed to settle the case out of court last year.
The settlement agreement states that Atomic Provisions will pay around 700 former and current employees. Included in the $800,000 settlement amount is $15,000 for Lucero, $10,000 for Barili, and $10,000 to a third plaintiff, Lillian Neal. The settlement also includes the plaintiffs’ attorney fees, which total $266,666, and other reimbursement costs of about $26,000. The rest of the plaintiffs will receive a settlement amount calculated based on the number of hours they worked.
An attorney for Atomic Provisions told Denverite she had no comment. Atomic Provisions did not immediately respond to Denverite’s emails and calls requesting comment.
Barili did not respond to voicemails left at his current place of employment or Facebook messages seeking comment from Denverite. His attorneys also did not respond to calls and emails from Denverite requesting comment.
