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.[9]
In 1982, Casa Bonita's parent company, which also owned Taco Bueno fast food restaurants, was sold to Unigate (later Uniq plc). In 1992, Unigate sold the restaurants to CKE Restaurants, owner of Carl's Jr.[10] In 1997, the two remaining Casa Bonita restaurants, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Lakewood, Colorado, were spun off by CKE as part of Star Buffet.[11] The Tulsa location closed in September 2005,[12] then reopened for two years as Casa Viva, and closed again in December 2007. It was reopened by Star Buffet under the original name in late July 2008 but closed again in 2011 when Star Buffet filed for bankruptcy, leaving the Lakewood location as the last Casa Bonita.[13][14] The Lakewood Historical Society designated the restaurant as a city landmark in March 2015.
In March 2020, Casa Bonita closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Colorado Governor Jared Polis placed a ban on in-person dining during the two-month span between March 17 and May 26. In March, several employees reported that their most recent paychecks had bounced due to insufficient funds in the Casa Bonita payroll account.[15] The restaurant's website disappeared during the summer of 2020, sometime between July 7 and July 30.[16]
On April 6, 2021, Summit Family Restaurants, Casa Bonita's owner, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona.[17] On September 23, 2021, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone reached an agreement to purchase the restaurant for $3.1 million. A group named "Save Casa Bonita" filed an objection to Parker and Stone's purchase, pointing out that they had in fact made an offer first.[18] Their objection was later withdrawn, and the sale was completed by November 19.[19][20][21]
Parker and Stone spent $40 million renovating the restaurant and hired Chef Dana Rodriguez to update the menu.[22][23] Arthur Bradford chronicled the experience in ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! (2024), a makeover documentary.[24]
The restaurant had a soft opening on May 26, 2023.[25] Casa Bonita began taking reservations for weekends beginning June 23, 2023.[26]
