Last restaurant in the former chain of Mexican-themed "eatertainment" restaurants features strolling mariachis, a 30-foot (9.1 m) waterfall with cliff divers, and a "haunted tunnel" called Black Bart's Cave
Friday and Saturday: 11am to 10pm
From Denver: Head northwest toward Cleveland Pl. Turn left onto Cleveland Pl. Turn right onto 15th St. Turn left onto Tremont Pl. Turn right onto I-70BL/W Colfax Ave. Turn right at Otis St.
Overview
Casa Bonita (Spanish; literally means "pretty house") is a former chain of Mexican-themed "eatertainment" restaurants which originated in Oklahoma City. The last restaurant in the former chain, which is located in Lakewood, Colorado.
History
Founder Bill Waugh opened the first Casa Bonita restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1968. By the mid-1970s, the chain had expanded to locations in adjacent states and was known for its "all you can eat" beef or chicken plates and offering sopapillas—small squares of fried bread served with honey—with every meal.
On April 6, 2021, Casa Bonita filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. In August 2021, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, announced that they had struck a deal to purchase the restaurant. On September 23rd, Parker, Stone, Casa Bonita Inc., and The Beautiful House LLC (company related to Parker and Stone), struck a sale agreement. On November 4th, the sale agreement was officially signed. They officially own the restaurant as of November 19th.
Locations
The first Casa Bonita was opened in the summer of 1968 in Oklahoma City, at a time when Mexican food was considered a novelty in the area. The restaurant was located along U.S. Route 66 at the intersection of NW 39th and Portland. On opening, it featured themed rooms, including the Garden Room and El Pokey, a room themed as a Mexican jail. The Oklahoma City location closed in 1993. After housing other businesses, the building was demolished in 2015.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
The Tulsa location opened in 1971 near the intersection of 21st and Sheridan. The interior was designed to create the outdoor nighttime atmosphere of a Mexican village. Its various themed dining areas, with seating for over 500, included a village square with fountain, a 2-level lantern-lit cave, a tropical garden with 20-ft waterfall and stream, and a room resembling an aristocratic dining hall with a porch along with strolling mariachis. The Tulsa location also included a puppet and magic show theatre, a video arcade, a working carousel, and a gift shop. It closed permanently on February 2011.
Lakewood, Colorado
The Lakewood location was built in 1973 and opened in early 1974 on Colfax Avenue west of Denver, along U.S. Route 40/I-70 Business. Similar in architecture to the Tulsa location (both were previously large retail store locations), the Lakewood restaurant seats over 1000 people at a time, and features strolling mariachis, flame jugglers (no longer allowed in 2019 for violating fire code), and a 30-foot (9.1 m) waterfall with cliff divers. It also has a small puppet theater, a "haunted tunnel" called Black Bart's Cave, an arcade with a large skee-ball room, and a magic theater. It was designated a historic landmark of the city in March 2015.
The South Park episode "Casa Bonita" prominently features the Colorado branch of the restaurant. The South Park connection comes about as the creators of the show and several staff of South Park recalled having fond memories frequenting the establishment as children in the Denver suburbs.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Casa Bonita", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
