The Golden Trident

Story and Photos By Olly Johnson

For the last couple of decades, if you lived in or visited Colorado, you went to Casa Bonita. Founded by Bill Waugh in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Casa Bonita (Spanish for “pretty house”) would expand to two other restaurants, with the biggest residing in Lakewood, Colorado. Eventually, the two other restaurants would close by 2011, leaving the Lakewood location as the only Casa Bonita in the world. The restaurant was iconic, being well-known around the city and even nationwide. One of the major reasons was thanks to the hit adult animated TV show “South Park”, which starred Casa Bonita in one of their most famous episodes named “Casa Bonita.” Casa Bonita, after being marked a city landmark in 2015, was in dire straits in 2020, with COVID-19 shutting down the restaurant for three months. This caused the bankruptcy of the restaurant in 2021. However, the creators of “South Park”, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, decided to take on the monumental task of reopening and fixing Casa Bonita. 

Casa Bonita is a Mexican restaurant that specializes in one thing; Atmosphere. The entire restaurant’s interior is set in a massive Mexican-style town with several iconic set pieces, from a wandering mariachi band to the haunted “Black Bart’s Cave,” to even magic shows, puppet performances, and arcades with full shooting galleries. That is not even mentioning the centerpiece of Casa Bonita, the 30-foot tall waterfall where the cliff divers, the icons of the restaurant, perform several acts, all of which end with some sort of stylish dive off of the cliff into the water below. 

Casa Bonita was also known for its quality of food, ranging from awful to mediocre. The food was originally served in a cafeteria-style method, where patrons would get a tray and be served food, and the food also tasted like cafeteria food. It was bland and, thanks to the giant waterfall, soggy with a hint of chlorine. Besides the margaritas and the bottomless sopapillas, nobody came for the food. This reputation of terrible food was a pungent odor around Casa Bonita for the entirety of its existence. However, it lived alongside the reputation of its wonderful presentation. It became a Lakewood landmark for a reason. 

When the restaurant was bought by Stone and Parker, they went to try and renovate the restaurant to the best of their abilities. As described in the 2024 documentary made by  Arthur Branford, “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!”, the duo spent 40 million dollars to fix up Casa Bonita and even hired Chef Dana Rodriguez to try to make the menu good. When the restaurant reopened in 2023, and the only way to get in was via reservation, people were very impressed with the changes. The food was mountains better than the food several years ago, though some still say that the food still has hints of its cafeteria origins. This was a massive endeavor from Stone and Parker, and they admit that they didn’t realize how big of a project this was. This was best shown by their TV show “South Park”, and one specific episode. In season 26, 20 years after the original “Casa Bonita” episode, they aired an episode called “Dikin Baus Hot Dogs.” To summarize, the episode is about two of the main characters, Cartmen and Kenny, trying to reopen a defunct hot dog restaurant, and the episode follows those trials and tribulations. If you take into account the fact that Stone and Parker voice the two characters, the metaphor becomes clear. Most believe that this episode is a commentary on the reopening of Casa Bonita and what it took to renovate the restaurant.

But their efforts were worth it. The restaurant is just as magical and impressive as it was then. Casa Bonita is pouring with charm from floor to ceiling. It is one of the most popular restaurants in the Denver metropolitan area and is a major part of Colorado’s identity for that reason. While it is not a restaurant you would frequent often due to the price, Casa Bonita is a must-see for anyone who steps foot into the Denver Metro Area.