Casa Bonita's waitlist customers discuss experience: "We had a really good time. This was great nostalgia"
It has been one of the hottest topics on Colorado's social media pages as many have been anticipating Casa Bonita's limited re-opening.
While the restaurant still has not allowed general walk-ins, the first set of customers selected from the email waitlist described their experience being at Casa Bonita -- either for the first time or the first time in years.
"We had a really good time. This was great nostalgia to come back here after all these years. My husband had never been there, so I had to drag him along and see all the old things and new memories," Christina Pagan told CBS News Colorado. "It's completely different than what you thought, just seeing all the attractions, I love the cliff-diving and hearing the mariachi music."
When asked if the food was up to par, Pagan replied, "I would say the food is good. It's better than before, you know? We had to try a couple different things and yeah, I think it was definitely worth it."
Sarah James and Rodrigo Peniche were at Casa Bonita for the first time ever to celebrate a friend's birthday party. They spoke to CBS News Colorado as they were waiting to go inside and had an idea of what to expect.
"We're here at Casa Bonita for the first time ever to celebrate and see the cliff divers. We're very excited," James said. "No idea what to expect inside. Another friend used to be a cliff diver here, so we know there's going to be some waterfalls, splashing, but that's about it. And dinner."
Peniche wished his friend a happy birthday and then the two sang the Casa Bonita song that South Park character Eric Cartman sang in the show's episode about the restaurant.
Tate Lunhagen was leaving Casa Bonita with his dad and older brother and described his time inside as "the second best day of my life." He saw cliff divers, went on a ride, ate dinner and got lots of candy.
"There was a magic trick thingy and I went down there and got candy at the end," he said. "There's also a water thing where you get different stuff – for example, I got this," and he held up a small souvenir.
Tate then held up a map of the inside and showed off all the attractions inside that he saw and participated in: "If you can find your way, I went everywhere. I went here, here, here, here, here."
Erik Dean was carrying his son Henrik Orion, their second and first time there, respectively.
They had a great time, according to Dean, who said they went to a puppet show inside.
They did see a gorilla -- presumably a person in costume -- which little Henrik didn't like, but thankfully, the gorilla was wrangled by a cowboy.
"That problem was averted," Dean said.
Henrik received a pearl prize from a mermaid inside, which he tapped against our microphone for a needed soundcheck.
"It's a egg," he clarified.
"The food is great, the people are great, and the sopapillas are great," Dean said. "What else is great?" he asked his son. "Not the gorilla," Henrik declared.
Teal Jandrain was outside with her "posse," all dressed in pink to match the building's iconic paint job.
Jandrain said her best friend was chosen from Casa Bonita's waitlist and characterized it as "the magic Willy Wonka ticket that got us the most prized Colorado experience of all time … she called me three times and said 'this is not a drill.'"
"We've been waiting, like, our lives for this experience," she said.
The group had been to Casa Bonita prior to its 2021 closure.
It would have been easier and much less expensive to just tear down Casa Bonita and rebuild it anew. According to the new owners Trey Parker and Matt Stone, they spent well above $40 million to get the restaurant ready for its grand reopening.
The dollar figure was revealed in an interview the "South Park" creators did with the New York Times, which profiled the Colorado landmark in an article.
The restaurant is located on Colfax Avenue between Sheridan and Wadsworth Boulevards and you can't miss its iconic pink front, which was repainted.
Casa Bonita first opened in 1974 and grew a big following thanks to cliff diving and other fun experiences diners got to experience. It closed when the COVID pandemic began and finally reopened last month.
Casa Bonita announced earlier last month that it would be taking reservations for the reopening with more than 100,000 people signing up, according to the New York Times.
