Casa Bonita

Casa Bonita ( in Spanish) is a Mexican restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado, located within the Lamar Station Plaza. It opened in 1974, and was originally part of a chain of Mexican entertainment restaurants that started in Oklahoma City. The restaurant has attracted a cult following among Colorado residents since its opening, and is considered by many to be an iconic establishment of Lakewood and the greater Denver metropolitan area. In 2019, The Denver Post published a feature on the restaurant and described the decor, saying, "Its pink exterior conceals a vast network of nooks and crannies inside. While the main, multilevel dining room is decorated with plastic palm trees and strings of lights, different facades and themed rooms invoke regional Mexican architectural styles, including the resort of Puerto Vallarta." The centerpiece is a indoor waterfall with cliff divers, an imitation of the cliffs of Acapulco. The building is crowned with a gold dome and a statue of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor of Mexico. It was designated a historic landmark of the city in March 2015. Casa Bonita temporarily closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its owner filed for bankruptcy in April 2021. Later that year, it was acquired by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who gave the restaurant a significant renovation. The restaurant held a soft relaunch beginning June 23, 2023, now billing itself as The Greatest Restaurant in the World! 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.