Now that the bankruptcy judge has signed off on the sale of Casa Bonita to South Park creators and Colorado natives Trey Parker and Matt Stone for $3.1 million (and an unknown amount for intellectual property rights), some of their plans are going public. And they look not only smart, but kind of sweet, too.
On November 16, the team announced that restaurateur Dana Rodriguez has signed on as executive chef and culinary partner. The popular and generous Denver chef — whose life story would make a script of its own — has already been in the kitchen, analyzing the equipment updates needed at the pink entertainment palace that opened at 6715 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood back in 1974.
Robert Wheaton, who bought Casa Bonita from founder Bill Waugh, had closed the restaurant in March 2020 as the pandemic hit; the dining area never reopened. Earlier this year, even as Wheaton's Summit Family Restaurants filed for bankruptcy protection in April, Casa Bonita began offering free tours of the empty restaurant.

The Lakewood Action Center will be distributing Thanksgiving meal kits on November 20.
Action Center
But these employees won't be working at the building itself: Instead, Casa Bonita spokeswoman Stef Jones confirms, they've been asked to provide their time and energy to local community nonprofits including We Don't Waste, Project Angel Heart, the Action Center and Habitat ReStores in Denver and Wheat Ridge. At a time when many charitable organizations are short of both help and cash, this move has been very welcome, says one Lakewood official.
Sweet.