Discussion How to survive Casa Bonita, the world's weirdest Mexican restaurant

[The Helper]

I recently visited Casa Bonita for the first time, and I'm still trying to recover. No, that's not an indigestion joke about the food, sub-par as it may be. Actually, my mind was blown in a good way. As I'd been told, there's no easy way to describe the Lakewood institution, which bills itself as "The World's Most Exciting Restaurant" - a pronouncement that very well might be true. The multi-story, Mexican-themed behemoth includes a 30-foot-tall waterfall, cliff divers, fire jugglers, strolling mariachi bands, a pirate cave, magicians, puppet shows, skee-ball machines... you get the idea. As one of my colleagues put it, it's like Disney had sex with Tijuana and left the goofy-looking bastard to fend for itself in a random strip mall on Colfax.

I loved every insane second of our trip there - except for the fact that I felt like those kids in the movie SpaceCamp who were accidentally launched into space and had no fucking idea what the hell to do. There was just way too much stuff going on at Casa Bonita and no helpful little robot named Jinx (yes, that's a second SpaceCamp reference) to help me figure it all out.

With that in mind, we here at Westword decided, as a community service, to create a Casa Bonita survivor's guide. Follow these rules and you'll have a hell of a time -- who knows, you may even live to eat again.

1) Do your research. There's no way to fully prepare for the sensory-overload experience that is Casa Bonita, but a good first step would be to watch Trey Parker and Matt Stone's South Park documentary about the place. We're using the term "documentary" because while every other South Park episode features bizarre characters and outlandish scenarios, the actual Casa Bonita is so ridiculous they just slapped it into the show looking exactly how it looks in real life. We're also pretty sure children really have been willing to kill others for a chance to go to the restaurant, so Cartman's attempt to kill Butters so he can take his place at a party there is completely factual. And finally, just like Cartman, chances are you will end up running around Casa Bonita like a crack addict, all the while singing the song, "Casa Bonita! Casa Bonita! Food and fun in a festive atmosphere!"

Facebook

www.facebook.com

=============
Ha so Casa Bonita is a real place

 

[Rapmaster]

Didn't know it was a real restaurant!

 

[Blackveiled]

Didn't know it was a real restaurant!

Yeah. Same here, lmao.

 

[w/e]

Rofl that's awesome. I really want to go.

 

[Seb!]

Colorado and Oklahoma, come on. :thdown:

 

[Blackveiled]

Colorado and Oklahoma, come on. :thdown:

Probably a hell of an expensive place to run, haha.

 

[signoftheend]

The expensive thing is the antacid that you need after you go there... the experience is great, but the food might kill you

 

[The Helper]

A little update on this...

“South Park” creators ink deal to purchase Casa Bonita

Casa Bonita will soon, officially, be in the “South Park” creators’ hands.

Six weeks after Trey Parker and Matt Stone publicly said they planned on buying the legendary Colorado restaurant, filings in federal bankruptcy court this week show the comedy duo have moved to purchase Casa Bonita for $3.1 million.

Keith Pizzi, a representative with the comedy duo’s company, Park County, signed the purchase agreement in U.S Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado accompanied by the name “The Beautiful Opco, LLC.” A search on the California Secretary of State’s Office shows that company shares the same address as Park County.

Westword first reported the purchase agreement Monday evening, which still has to be signed off on by a federal bankruptcy judge.

“South Park” creators ink deal to purchase Casa Bonita

Trey Parker and Matt Stone said in July they wanted to buy the Lakewood staple “and treat it right.”

www.denverpost.com

 

[The Helper]

It looks like this is a done deal and it is being worked on. I want to visit this place. When I go to Colorado on vacation I am definitely going here

Casa Bonita

The Greatest Restaurant in the World!

www.casabonitadenver.com

 

[The Helper]

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The highly anticipated reopening of a Colorado landmark famous for its cliff divers, lagoon and sopapillas is almost upon us.

Casa Bonita posted on Saturday that the finishing touches are being applied to the golden dome atop the building's iconic pink tower.

The Lakewood restaurant has been undergoing more than $12 million in extensive renovations since South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone bought it for $3.1 million in Sept. 2021.

Parker, Stone and Executive Chef Dana Rodriguez announced in December that Casa Bonita would be reopening this month, however, an exact date still has not been revealed.

In the meantime, the restaurant shared a few GIFs of employees hard at work preparing for the big day.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1659973053022097409

Casa Bonita prepares for highly anticipated reopening

The iconic Lakewood landmark is almost ready for its long-awaited reopening.

www.9news.com

 

[tom_mai78101]

Casa Bonita — the 52,000 square-foot pink palace in Lakewood, Colorado, known for Mexican food and cliff divers — won't be offering tips to servers and bartenders.

The nearly 50-year-old establishment— which shut down in March 2020— reopened last week after a buzzy, $40 million renovation.

It was purchased by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of the animated sitcom series South Park in September 2021, after the restaurant filed for bankruptcy earlier that year, according to The Denver Post.

The series, which is set in the fictional small town of South Park, Colorado, features Casa Bonita in an episode in its seventh season.

In January, Fox31 reported that Casa Bonita "2.0" would offer salaries for its waitstaff (which they would receive in addition to tips) ranging between $14.27 to $15.27.

Days before opening, though, the restaurant reportedly asked employees to sign new contracts that offered hourly wages for servers and bartenders of $30 an hour, according to Axios Denver. The catch was that they would no longer receive tips to supplement their wages, Axios reported. (The minimum wage in Colorado is $13.65, according to the state's labor department.)

The creators of 'South Park' have eliminated tipping at Denver's famed Casa Bonita. Servers now make $30 an hour — and some are mad.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are asking staff to sign contracts offering hourly wages of $30 at the Lakewood, Colorado, Mexican restaurant they bought.

www.businessinsider.com

Why would anyone be mad that they got paid much higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour ?

 

[SunBlitzed]

Why would anyone be mad that they got paid much higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour ?
[/QUOTE]

bc slackers now are the equivalent to excellent employees, by standardizing the pay like that you’re asking for issues.

 

[The Helper]

The Hype for Casa Bonita is over. It is just a regular place now. I still want to go but I hope that it will still be open by the time I get there. The website might say something about it

Casa Bonita

The Greatest Restaurant in the World!

www.casabonitadenver.com

It is so broken. Kind of sad. I still so want to go though!

 

[The Helper]

‘South Park,’ a costly restoration, and the history of Casa Bonita

There’s a new documentary out that follows “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker as they dump millions restoring what they considered to be the “Disneyland of Mexican restaurants.”

“¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” tells the story of the 52,000-square-foot Denver landmark. The first Casa Bonita opened in Oklahoma City in 1968. Then, the franchise expanded to Little Rock, Arkansas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then to the Denver suburb of Lakewood in 1974. The chain became known for theme park-like interiors, with Denver featuring an indoor waterfall, cliff divers, and haunted caves.

One by one, these locations all closed. All except for the Colorado restaurant, made famous by a 2003 “South Park” episode.

After Covid struck, the owner of Casa Bonita filed for bankruptcy. Then, Parker and Stone stepped in, sinking $40 million dollars into the restaurant’s restoration.

Parker and Stone spoke to 1A’s arts correspondent, John Horn, at this year’s Telluride Film Festival.

'South Park,' a costly restoration, and the history of Casa Bonita

Who's prepared to spend $40 million on Denver's Disneyland of Mexican restaurants?

the1a.org

 

[The Helper]

South Park Creators Make Controversial Clause At New Restaurant

If you’ve been tuned into the news at all in the last few months, you may be aware of the fact that South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have officially entered the restaurant game. While the news surrounding the grand opening of their Colorado restaurant, Casa Bonita, has been overwhelmingly positive, the duo has been turning heads due to a bizarre clause in the terms and services required to place a reservation. The terms, which span a staggering 7,000 words, include relinquishing your right to sue the establishment before a judge or jury if something goes horribly awry during your service.

It sounds like the exact kind of thing that you might see skewered on an episode of South Park, but the clause is clearly written without any sense of irony or satire. If you’re one of the bold few patrons who do decide to comb through each and every page of a terms and services agreement, you’ll see that the reservation stipulations for Casa Bonita state in all caps “YOU ARE GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO LITIGATE A DISPUTE IN COURT BEFORE A JUDGE OR JURY.”

With any luck, this clause won’t come into play at all, and the diners of Casa Bonita will be left to enjoy their pilgrimage completely free of any choking, illness, or other pain and suffering that could be grounds for litigation.

Of course, you never know when you might find yourself choking on a chicken bone or slipping on a bathroom floor, so signing away your rights to financial compensation in this manner could seal the fate of any unlucky patrons. It’s hard to say how enforceable a clause like this would be when put to the test, especially with a competent lawyer by your side, though there is some precedent for similar language in long-form TOS agreements.

South Park Creators Make Controversial Clause At New Restaurant

Heads are turning as people looking to eat at this South Park restaurant realize there is a controversial clause hidden in the terms.

www.giantfreakinrobot.com

 

[The Helper]

Casa Bonita 2024 Tour & Review with The Legend

Join molly and the legend as they enjoy a meal at the famous casa bonita restaurant in denver colorado. Since reopening with the new owners (trey parker and matt stone from south park) Casa Bonita has been incredibly popular. This video shows off everything casa bonita denver has to offer including: food, drinks, cliff divers, blackbarts cave, museum, south park references, puppet show, magic show and more.

In The Loop

 

[The Helper]

How The Creators Of South Park Saved Their Favorite Restaurant

The story of Casa Bonita from its beginning to now and the journey along the way.

Weird History Food

 

[The Helper]

I Tested Casa Bonita | Denver Colorado's Wildest Restaurant

Love food and South Park? Join me as I dive into the $40 million renovation of Casa Bonita, brought to life by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. This iconic Colorado spot, known as the ‘Disneyland of Mexican food’ and famous for its cliff divers, is officially back in action! With the grand reopening underway and the waitlist finally moving, I had the chance to check it out. Watch as I explore and review the new and improved Casa Bonita—let’s see if it lives up to the hype!”

Karrpool Lane

 

[The Helper]

The arcade workers were voluntarily recognized, joining organizing efforts that began last fall at the immersive restaurant.

Workers in the arcade department of the immersive restaurant Casa Bonita, owned by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have gained voluntary union recognition after a two-month long organizing effort.

The eight-person unit of workers unanimously signed authorization cards in May asking for union representation from IATSE Local 7, with the goal of achieving greater job security, fair wages and consistent scheduling at the Denver-area restaurant. Casa Bonita management agreed to voluntarily recognize the arcade members on July 1 after a third-party card check.

This comes after an 80-person unit, including 60 performers and about 20 crewmembers, had started a drive to unionize with Actors’ Equity and IATSE, respectively, last fall, over safety concerns and better pay, among other issues.

The restaurant, based in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, first opened in 1974 and then reopened in 2024 after being bought out of bankruptcy by Parker and Stone, who had set a 2003 episode of South Park at Casa Bonita. The restaurant features cliff divers, actors, puppeteers, magicians and more.

Arcade Workers at ‘South Park’ Creators’ Casa Bonita Restaurant Unionize

The arcade workers were voluntarily recognized, joining organizing efforts that began last fall at the immersive restaurant.

www.hollywoodreporter.com