Casa Bonita Mi Amor!

My dad worked for Conoco and we were transferred to OKC in summer1968, 68-69 being my senior year in HS. The original Casa Bonita (at 39th & Portland - about 5 miles from our house) had just opened and back then it was all you could eat for $1.25 The place was a monster hit and often the lines were insane. As a teenager, I could eat 3 or 4 platefuls of their great food with my favorite being the cheese enchiladas. As their popularity grew, they expanded into nearly Tulsa, Little Rock, Ft. Worth and Denver. The original was not nearly impressive like the Tulsa and Denver locations. At first it was just food and service but later evolved into having (sometimes) live musicians and a costumed monkey that sometimes scared the crap out of the little kids. But it was all fun. The service was so so good. You had a little flag on the table. Raise it and someone would pop over immediately to get whatever you wanted. After the OKC store closed (in 1993 I think), we would often come up with excuses to travel to Tulsa just to eat at Casa Bonita. We were quite impressed by the difference in the Tulsa location and the OKC original. They had caves, cliff divers, puppets, magicians, etc. The food was just as good too. Really bummed us out when that location closed down. After I found out there was still a Denver location, I started looking into it and found the story that it had been on South Park and the guys there had purchased it. Kudos to them and I have to get there for another taste. I can't ever remember happier meals anywhere better than Casa Bonita. Like everything, prices have increased through the years, but I wouldn't hesitate to go to Casa Bonita. This movie reminded me that not all good things have to come to an end. I'm planning a trip there soon.

I was really looking forward to this for a while and it really did not disappoint. Casa Bonita occupies a very special place in Trey and Matt's hearts, but especially Trey. This was very nicely showcased through the home videos from Trey's childhood, and his reminiscing of Casa Bonita's prime in the 70s. This sweet nostalgia had it's "grip" on countless Coloradans which explains the outrage at the news of the the restaurant's closure during the pandemic. Trey and Matt undertook the daunting task of reviving this local landmark at a great cost to themselves (financial and mental). Some might have "cheaped" out when it comes to repairing a locale of this magnitude, but not them. They ballooned the budget of the project gladly just to make sure everything would be perfect and safe. The documentary goes through the entire arduous process of bringing Casa bonita back to life better than ever, and you can really see they cared.

First of all, thank you Trey and Matt for taking over Casa Bonita and not giving up on it when you found out how disgusting it was. If you didn't do it, no one would have.

Back in 2016 my husband and I were in Colorado to visit Casa Bonita. We were too tired to go and it closed before we had the chance to try again. We always regretted not going and loved that episode from South Park. We didn't grow up going there but did spend time living in Oaxaca and Puebla Mexico so it seemed like the perfect place to reimagine those areas.

We visited again in 2023 for our ten year anniversary but were sadly turned away as there was a Willy Wonka ticketing system where you had to get an email invitation to make a reservation. One year later we finally got the email and I told my husband "We have to go back!". Just like Cartman, I would do anything to go. We drove there from Kentucky with our parrot and if you ask me if it's worth it, my response will be "totally". I wore the perfect pink shirt to match the new paint and even the security guard appreciated it. Once inside, we felt like kids again. You almost get lost trying to figure out how to get to the food, but it's fun. There is so much to do there that I'm not sure we did everything after seeing this documentary! Having our caricature done by a cranky old Welsh guy near the puppet show was my favorite part. We got to hear Trey's voice over the loud speaker announcing the cliff divers and puppet show and it felt so good to feel his involvement. You can hear him in Blackbart's Cave as well. They really did so many improvements that it felt like a new facility, not simply a remake of an old one. The actors were fantastic as well, especially the divers and the dancing they did before the dive. The pirate by the wishing well handed us a coin and told us to make a wish and throw it in. A preteen kid went before us and yelled "I wish to be cool!". He hung around for my wish, so I promptly yelled "I wish to be cooler than that kid!". That was probably the funniest memory I'll have from that place and need Matt and Trey to know they created the space for me and that kid to have those memories (or scars in his case) for life.

If you've been there since the reopening, nothing compares. I recently shot pool with some Denver locals and they complained that the food there wasn't as good as Mexican restaurants nearby. I didn't find this to be true. Our food was pretty great and the sopapillas were fantastic. Our drinks were amazing too. The adults were having as much fun as the kids and that's how you know you've done a good thing. This place is so special and we would gladly go back. It's like a Mexican Meow Wolf. I'm so glad this documentary was made so I can relive the experience.