As Casa Bonita Opening Comes Closer, the Unofficial Great Wait in Line Event Gets Big Response

"It started as kind of a joke," says Jesse Vogel, who created a Facebook event called The Great Wait in Line Event to eat the first night at Casa Bonita opening night! "A Storm Area 51-style event was the beginning thought process," he adds, referring to a viral event page from 2019. "Then I thought, how funny would it be if we could get people to stay out there? It could become this big game show-type thing. ... It could even be turned into a big South Park episode."

As of March 7  — three months ahead of the reopening of the pink eatertainment palace at 6715 West Colfax Avenue — nearly 9,000 people have RSVP'd. "I haven't advertised it. I just shared it in some Facebook groups, and it's grown naturally," Vogel notes.

But that isn't surprising, considering the anticipation surrounding Casa Bonita 2.0. Ever since it was announced in August 2021 that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone had bought the iconic venue that had shut down early in the pandemic, fans have been hungry for more details.

Last December, days before Christmas, the Casa Bonita team gifted those fans with something big — an opening date. At least a vague one: The doors are expected to open sometime this May.

Vogel, who is originally from Minnesota and moved to Denver fifteen years ago, has never been inside Casa Bonita, but found himself caught up in the excitement anyway. "It totally happened to me," he admits. "I literally didn't care before this, but just hearing all of the people talk about it — even just reading the words on a screen, somehow the excitement transcends. ... I can feel it. I can sense how much fun it was for them, and I know it's gonna be that fun for me."
And so, one evening around midnight, he created the event and shared it on a Casa Bonita fans Facebook page. "Overnight, like 100 people said they were going," he recalls. "I was going to delete it after a little bit." But then the concept took off, even reaching someone who heard about it in Mexico and advised Vogel to leave up the page.

Vogel recently moved his event to May 23 — he's betting on a May 26 grand opening, though that has not been officially confirmed. He's visited businesses that neighbor Casa Bonita to get feedback on his idea to have people line up early. Seven out of ten were supportive, he says, but the other three have concerns, as does the property management company.

He's received no communication from the Casa Bonita team, but he'd love to collaborate as his idea takes shape. Right now he envisions a ticketed numbering system, with people coming by 72 hours ahead of the opening to receive a ticket for their place in line. Then guests would return a day in advance to wait for the doors to open while enjoying a 24-hour party complete with live music, a DJ and a costume contest.

But this is all tentative right now. "I don't want to disrupt," Vogel says. "We're trying to be a blessing."

Vogel owns a roofing company, but his main focus in life is helping the community. "I realized that money wasn't the thing that would make me ultimately happy, so I looked at ways to use money to afford happiness," he explains. He mainly uses his profits to fund a church aimed at "getting community to come together," and he's also building a twelve-acre farm and garden in a small town in Minnesota.
Over the years, he's done a lot of work with organizations helping the homeless and has also spent time with Denver's unhoused population, trying to learn what people really need. "It was about understanding the bigger picture," Vogel explains. Sometimes the answer was as simple as a smile, a conversation or encouragement; at other times, he would help connect people with more tangible items like socks and shoes. That work is how Luna came into his life.

A video posted to the line-up event page last month shows Vogel in front of Casa Bonita. "There is a tent out here already, so we are going to see who it is," he says, before unzipping the door. Out pops a small white dog in a bright-pink vest. "It's Luna, the no-tooth service dog!"

For about a decade, Luna lived with her human mom, a former veteran who was experiencing homelessness. Vogel connected with the woman through his ministry work, and when she entered a rehab facility in Steamboat Springs, he took in Luna. Now they are inseparable. "She's a serious force in the Denver community for bringing happiness and smiles, and she breaks down barriers for service dog mentality," Vogel says.

No matter what else happens with the Great Wait in Line event, Vogel says, "it would be fun to have Luna be the first person to go in, or to be able to eat there the first day.

As Luna awaits official word on her role in Casa Bonita's reopening, Vogel says that anyone interested in the project should check the Facebook page. Along with event updates, he plans to post Casa Bonita content weekly; he hopes the space will continue to be a place for people to share their memories and excitement.

It's also become an outlet for connecting people with jobs: Vogel says he's pointed many people in the direction of openings at Casa Bonita, which is hiring for a variety of positions (including cliff divers).