It’s time to practice your best Eric Cartman impression because you’ll be able to book a reservation soon at Casa Bonita — no lottery luck needed.
The famed Lakewood restaurant officially opens to the general public on Oct. 1, owners Matt Stone and Trey Parker told The Denver Post in an exclusive interview. That’s the first day reservations will be available to anyone craving food, fun and a festive atmosphere. Bookings open on Sept. 16 at casabonitadenver.com.
Since Casa Bonita made its post-pandemic debut in June 2023, it’s been one of the most exclusive dining establishments in Colorado. Up until now, the only way to get a table has been to enter a lottery and hope to receive an invitation to purchase tickets, which buy entry, a meal and access to all the attractions like Black Bart’s Cave and the waterfall with its famous cliff divers.
Stone and Parker said they didn’t intend for access to be limited for so long, but it was necessary to work out the operational kinks of such a unique venue. They’ve made some big changes over the year-plus of soft opening phase, too.
Starting Oct. 1, Casa Bonita will no longer require guests to buy a pre-paid ticket. Instead, they’ll be able to make reservations like they do at any other restaurant. Stone and Parker also recently decided to nix the buffet line, so patrons will be sat and served food in a more traditional dining format. At the end of the meal, guests will receive their check and pay.
Pricing, however, won’t change. Adult entrees cost $29.99 to $39.99 depending on if you visit during lunch or dinner, and kids’ meals run $19.99 to $24.99. While Casa Bonita servers still receive a flat hourly wage, checks will include a tip line should guests want to throw in a little extra.
Stone and Parker admit the food buffet line was part of the nostalgia of Casa Bonita, but it wasn’t necessarily good for the customer experience.
“It was causing so many problems,” Parker said. “It was the reason people ended up sitting down and their food was cold. Also we didn’t love watching people experience Casa Bonita (while) they’ve got a giant tray of food in their hands.”
“It was keeping us from making food as good as possible,” Stone added.
That’s also why the ticketing system had to go. The duo consulted with experts who advised treating entry to Casa Bonita like an amusement park or zoo, which sounded fitting in theory but was always confusing to explain to the public, they said. Once Stone and Parker began leaning into Casa Bonita’s identity as a restaurant and shaping logistics to fit those familiar standards, things ran more smoothly.
The broader opening has been a long time coming for both the owners and local fans. Stone and Parker — also the creative minds behind popular TV show “South Park” — bought Casa Bonita out of bankruptcy in 2021 and spent a cool $40 million to refurbish it.
Coincidentally, they reopened the Pink Palace two decades after featuring it on an episode of “South Park” and catapulting it to international acclaim. Stone and Parker also channeled some of their experiences into a recent episode in which Cartman reopens a hot dog stand, based not-so-subtly on the sausage-and-bun-shaped Coney Island Boardwalk in Bailey.
Since last summer, the owners tinkered with everything from small elements like the timing of magic and puppet shows to large logistics like paying for and picking up food, adjusting as more people came through the doors. Stone said Casa Bonita currently serves 11,000 to 12,000 diners per week.
“We thought we needed a couple weeks to figure that out — and we needed a solid year,” Parker explained.
Parker likened the experience to staging a Broadway show in that the owners couldn’t have predicted certain challenges until they saw how all the components worked together in real time. Stone and Parker made their theater debut in 2011 with “The Book of Mormon,” but coordinating Casa Bonita was “way more difficult,” they said.
“It’s like putting on a Broadway show that’s also a restaurant,” Parker said.
“In some ways, it was we’re restoring something, so you go, ‘OK there is a form and a template,’ but it was less of a template than we thought,” Stone added. “Theater is a well-worn art form and Casa Bonita, there’s only one in the world like that.”
Still, the owners have been overwhelmed by the response. Feedback has been predominantly positive, Stone said. Much to his surprise, many adults have booked tables and opted to leave their kids at home despite the core experience being family-friendly.
“There’s so much nostalgia around the place that a lot of that goodwill we’re feeling isn’t all our doing. It’s just restoring something and a connection to the past,” Stone said.
Tips for getting a table
Even once reservations open to the general public, demand is likely to be high. Casa Bonita has so far served 500,000 guests, Stone said. But with more than 900,000 addresses on Casa Bonita’s email newsletter list, many longtime fans have likely not yet been selected from the lottery. Anyone who has been invited to purchase tickets via the email list can still book a reservation through Sept. 30.
Additionally, anyone who signed up for the newsletter list will be invited to join a “founders club” with special perks like preferred access to reservations and special events, a personalized membership card, and discounts on purchases from the Casa Bonita Mercado, both online and in-person. (Sopaipilla-scented candles, anyone?)
Locals eager to book a table should consider going with a small group, Stone and Parker said – even as small as two people. That’s because there are a limited number of large tables and they fill up quickly.
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“You could never build Casa Bonita today the way it is. With fire codes and whatever, they would never let you build it like that with so many nooks and crannies,” Parker said. “It also made it so there are no large tables. I think we have two 10-tops in the entire restaurant. There’s tons of two-tops and four-tops that will be empty a lot, and it’s not a matter of let’s put these two tables together. No, because there’s a giant piece of rock right here you can’t.”
Even better, many small tables provide prime viewing to the cliff diving show, which Parker said was among his favorite attractions to reinvent “from kitschy crappy to kitschy classy.” That involved investing in sound and lighting near the 30-foot indoor waterfall, choreographing new routines, and sourcing the specific 1970s-era swimsuits to tie everything together.
“From moment one, we were like that’s the new Casa Bonita. Everything needs to come up to that level,” Parker said of the new dive show. “It’s still silly and fun and whatever, but it’s treated with respect and that’s what we had to bring everything up to.”
As Casa Bonita marks its 50th year, Stone and Parker hope to keep things running smoothly and add seasonal and holiday elements to the venue. They emphasized appreciation for fans’ patience while promising to continually evolve certain aspects and offerings to enhance the customer experience.
“We don’t have any details about it, but we’re trying to spread it out and make this 50th year kind of memorable, maybe start some traditions that continue,” Stone said.
Originally Published:
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