‘South Park’ Creators Could Save Famed Tacky Colorado Mexican Restaurant Casa Bonita From Closure
Photos: theunabonger/Instagram; Screenshot via YouTube
If you’re a fan of “South Park,” you’re familiar with the awe-inspiring Mexican restaurant that is Casa Bonita. The one-of-a-kind eater-tainment restaurant was featured on a famed 2003 episode of “South Park” called, appropriately, “Casa Bonita.”
Many fans of the show, however, don’t know that Casa Bonita is real. After all, most of what happens on “South Park” is complete and utter fantasy (y gracias a Díos). But, for those of us who grew up in Denver, Colo., we know that Casa Bonita is very real.
For those of you who aren’t “South Park” fans and need a little background, Casa Bonita is an extravagant, tacky Mexican-themed restaurant that was a staple of many a Colorado kid’s childhood.
Even I, for example, had my seventh birthday at Casa Bonita. Just like in the beloved “South Park” episode, I listened to the mariachi band, watched the cliff jumpers, made a trip through Black Bart’s Cave, and yes, ordered enough sopapillas to feed a small army. So hearing that Casa Bonita was close to permanent closure was a crushing blow. After all, I have a nostalgic soft spot in my heart for the gaudy restaurant.
Due to COVID-19, Casa Bonita is in danger of being shut down…forever. Thankfully, “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone want to prevent that from happening.
Last Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Trey Parker and Matt Stone–who are Denver natives–have plans to buy Casa Bonita. Like, serious plans. And it seems, for once, that the two jokesters aren’t joking.
“We are absolutely trying to buy it,” Trey Parker told THR. “We are going to do everything we can. We want to make it right and make it amazing.” They even went so far as to offer behind-the-scenes legal details. According to them, a sale is currently “in limbo” because of “ongoing court proceedings.”
“We want to buy Casa Bonita and treat it right. I feel like it was neglected even before the pandemic,” Parker said.
And although the sale isn’t final, Parker and Stone say they have big glow-up plans for Casa Bonita.
“We started talking about the changes we’re going to make–mostly with the food,” Parker said. “We’re going to make really awesome food. I was already thinking about how I was going to make Black Bart’s Cave a little bigger.” For anyone who has been to Casa Bonita before, they know that the restaurant’s quote-unquote “Mexican food” was notoriously bad and nowhere near authentic.
After I heard that Casa Bonita’s parent company, Summit Family Restaurants, filed for bankruptcy in April, I thought the writing was on the wall. I’m incredibly thankful that Trey Parker and Matt Stone have enough eff-you money to resuscitate it from its death bed.
“For a moment when it was like, ‘Casa Bonita is going to close down,’ we said, ‘We’re going to go buy it.’ And I felt like it was the crowning achievement of my life,” Parker revealed. We couldn’t agree more with that statement.
