Dry-aged pastrami meets a living wage at this growing Denver deli

Anthony Lygizos wrote his first business plan in 2013 with a few things in mind: he wanted to work daytime hours; offer a starting rate of $20 per hour to his employees; and be a part of the solution when it came to low pay for restaurant industry workers.

During his years in the hospitality industry, including a four-year stint at Aspen’s Little Nell hotel, Lygizos had seen many servers, kitchen employees and managers leave for lack of pay.

“Even up until 2015, the average wage for back-of-the-house employees was $12.50 in Denver,” Lygizos said. “So, when recreational marijuana was legalized here, there was “this disruption within the service industry workforce” because the cannabis industry was paying $13.25 an hour.”

“That is such a gunshot that 75 cents is enough to cause a ripple,” he added. “My friends and contemporaries couldn’t even live in the city they worked in or afford to start a family.”

In 2018, Lygizos opened Leven Deli Co., at 123 W. 12...