Will The ‘South Park’ Creators’ New, Improved Version Of Casa Bonita Open Soon?

Casa Bonita is a legendary restaurant that happens to have been known for stressing the entertainment aspects of the “eatertainment” chain at the expense of the actual food. Other than the sopapillas, the food was barely edible, but that didn’t discourage people from loving the joint (which originated in Oklahoma City back during the late 1960s). However, every single chain location went kaput as of a few years ago, and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone (who had already shown love by including the restaurant in an episode) decided to live the dream of resurrecting their childhood.

In summer 2021, the duo (operating under “The Beautiful Opco, LLC” umbrella) purchased one solitary Casa Bonita building in Lakewood, Colorado. The dream quickly turned into a “nightmare” with the pair discovering that the building was in dangerous disrepair. They needed to bring the place up to code, and they soon started pouring (as Stone told the Denver Post) “all of our money” into the renovation. They could have quit, but they kept the quest alive to bring restaurant-bound cave-diving and waterfalls and arcade games back to life. And they pledged to do so with with actual “good food” courtesy of chef Dana Rodriguez. Let’s hope that she keeps the sopapillas intact and makes the joint a place where people love to play and eat.

Progress can’t come fast enough for fans, and here’s how the restaurant looked from the outside shortly after Parker and Stone initially pulled out their wallets.

From there, the famed fountain needed to be demolished, and in August 2022, the pair sued to keep construction plans private (for safety reasons), although the venue’s attorneys dropped the case with no further explanation.

A few months later, and the creators haven’t revealed a peep on a targeted reopening day. However, they’re doing putting off damn good vibes by continuing to employ the restaurant’s workers (a few dozen recipients of not only paychecks but bilingual classes on the house) while the restaurant remains closed. The workers are using this time to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity (and similar organizations) and build camaraderie, something that will doubtlessly be reflected in the final Casa Bonita product when the time comes. For now, though, know that the pink palace will return.

A few months ago, Twitter user Erich Brock also snapped a photo of a freshly pink-painted palace in the works. Lookin’ good!