"Our guests’ reactions ranged from mild amusement to complete bewilderment. Some friends bought us Casa Bonita Dive Team shirts to commemorate the event. Nobody liked the food. At that point, it was difficult to imagine that Casa Bonita would rise again to become the hottest table in town," she recalls.
"But here we are, five years later, with a virtual queue in the tens of thousands, and with the details of Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s multimillion-dollar remodel sprinkled tantalizingly across national news outlets. South Park probably single-handedly sustained the place longer than it should have, with fans and lookie-loos making a pilgrimage despite its decline. Now Stone and Parker are promising that they’ve restored it to its original glory...."
And they've succeeded, Shunk reports in a piece detailing her recent visit to the renovated Casa Bonita. In their comments on the Westword Facebook page, readers share their own thoughts and memories of the place. Says Ethan:
Great article. Really brought me back to that time. Now more curious to see it!Adds Joe:
Just wish I'd be able to see it sometime in the next decade. Why are they reopening so slowly?Responds Chris:
Good to go in slowly and fix any problems as you go. Casa Bonita has lots of working plates in the air.Notes Sophie:
The original restaurant was pretty offensive to Mexican culture and cuisineAdds Janis:
And once everyone has seen it and the novelty wears thin, it will go under. Just saying.Wonders Peter:
To anyone who's eaten there, speaking to the food only, is it really worth $40 a plate?Replies James:
"It's not a $40 plate, it's $40 for an entree, NA drink, sopaipillas, and the shows. Lots of misleading information going around."Concludes Cheryl:
For those of us who grew up in Denver, Casa Bonita is much more than a restaurant.For the record, here's how Shunk wraps up her assessment:
"The verdict? I’d put the rehabbed Casa Bonita right up there with Stranger Things and Meow Wolf — other recent masterful creations that tap a deep nostalgia in the youngest Boomers along with Gen Xers and Millennials for the campy kid horror-adventure entertainment that fueled our childhood fantasies and neighborhood games.
"Yes, I’m excited to raise my sons, nieces and nephews on trips to Casa Bonita, hopefully letting them roam in the free-form way I did as a child as they discover all the weird and wonderful things that make the place one-of-a-kind. But I’m also excited for me, to get a bit of my childhood back in such a visceral way. So much so that I found myself getting misty as I called out, “Thank you!” to Stone as he passed by my table."
Read Laura Shunk's piece on Casa Bonita here.
Did you go to Casa Bonita as a kid? Ever? Have you been back since it reopened? Post a comment or share your thoughts at [email protected].
