Casa Bonita Is Finally Taking Reservations Three Years After Purchase By 'South Park' Creators

Casa Bonita, the Lakewood, CO institution known as the "Disneyland of Mexican restaurants," is finally taking reservations more than a year after its May 2023 soft opening. Until now, the only way to score a table at the restaurant, which was bought by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker in 2021, was to join a waitlist of over 600,000 people and be randomly selected by lottery.

The restaurant will begin accepting reservations on its website starting at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16 and is currently booking out from Oct. 1 with the calendar extending through November. Although guests will no longer be required to buy a ticket in advance, the Denver Post reports that the purchase of a meal is required. The restaurant serves seven entrees which all cost the same price; $29.99 during lunch and $39.99 during dinner with kids meals $19.99 and $24.99, respectively.

The grand opening is the latest chapter in the over $40 million saga since Stone and Parker purchased the giant pink landmark in 2021 after the previous owners filed for bankruptcy, only to find themselves stuck with a money pit. In addition to cosmetic upgrades such as refurbishing the interior, sculptures, fake trees, and artwork; the 52,000-square-foot restaurant had a myriad of safety hazards, such as a 30-inch-wide underwater tunnel cliff divers had to exit into an electrical room.

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Then, just months after opening, last July employees mobilized with a list of demands to the new owners over fair wages, among other things.

Stone and Parker said that they didn't expect the grand opening to take so long, explaining in an interview with the Denver Post earlier this months that the delay was necessary to work out the logistics of such a unique venue while accommodating thousands of guests. They noted that Casa Bonita has served 500,000-plus diners to date and currently welcomes 11,000 to 12,000 per week.

In fact, the "comedy of errors" over the costly investment has taken such a toll on the new owners that it's the subject of a new documentary, ?Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, which "tracks the rise, fall and revival of the beloved Colorado landmark."

"We did zero due diligence," Stone said, shaking his head, while speaking with Rolling Stone about the film. "It was very much like, we bought Casa Bonita, sweet! You know, we’ll fix it up and Trey can make a new and improved Black Bart’s Cave. How hard could it be? Well … you’ve seen the movie. The answer is millions and millions and millions of dollars worth of hard."

You can watch the trailer below. Or, for those living in the Lakewood area, head to Casa Bonita's website to try to score a reservation to the hottest spot in town.