For the first time in years, that giant pink fortress on West Colfax is buzzing again. Casa Bonita, the famously over-the-top restaurant that generations of Colorado families lined up for starting in the 1970s, has reopened after a massive multi-year overhaul by its new owners. The reboot brings back the cavernous dining rooms, cliff-diving shows, and puppet theater that turned the place into a local rite of passage.
An Amazing America feature this week framed Casa Bonita’s comeback as a full-on resurrection story, noting that the Lakewood outpost, which debuted in 1974, is once again open after extensive renovation. According to Fox San Antonio, the restaurant sprawls over more than 50,000 square feet and still revolves around its signature 30-foot indoor waterfall.
A Costly Rescue
Trey Parker and Matt Stone stepped in to buy Casa Bonita out of bankruptcy in 2021 and inherited a beloved landmark that had slid into serious disrepair. The South Park creators paid roughly $3.1 million for the Lakewood property, then sank far more into the rescue mission than early projections suggested. As reported by Vail Daily, renovation costs climbed into the tens of millions, with estimates landing around $40 million.
Inside The Pink Palace
Walking through the doors still feels less like entering a restaurant and more like wandering onto a theme-park set. Layered village facades, Black Bart’s Cave, roaming mariachis, puppet shows, and magic acts are all back in the mix. The cliff divers and that 30-foot waterfall remain the centerpiece of the experience, towering over diners in a space that dwarfs most local eateries.
For scale, Wikipedia and local coverage describe the building’s multi-level layout and theater-style staging, while Fox San Antonio points to the more than 50,000-square-foot footprint that makes the restaurant feel like its own indoor town.
Reservations, Tickets And Labor
Getting in still takes strategy. After reopening with invite-only ticket windows and long online waitlists, the restaurant shifted to a public reservation system late last year, a move that drew plenty of local attention when the calendar finally opened up. Opened reservations to the public in October, bringing a more conventional reservation and table-service model to the operation…