Weeks after announcing plans to purchase historic Denver-based concept Casa Bonita, South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have signed a deal to buy the venue for $3.1 million, according to court documents.
Pending court approval, the duo will acquire the bankrupt restaurant under the name “Beautiful Opco.” As part of the agreement, Casa Bonita parent Summit Family Restaurants will pay $900,000 of the sale proceeds to landlord BSV Lamont JCRS.
Summit Family Restaurants filed bankruptcy in April after reporting a loss of more than $85,000 over the previous eight weeks. The company reported $4.4 million in liabilities, including $149,900 from an Economic Injury Disaster Loan and $1 million from a Paycheck Protection Program loan. It also reported $3.69 million in assets.
However, the $3.1 million figure does not account for intellectual property rights, which put the sale at a much higher price, according to Westword. The publication explained that Casa Bonita Denver and Summit Family Restaurants are both subsidiaries of Star Buffet Inc. Summit Family Restaurants declared bankruptcy, while intellectual property rights were negotiated outside of court between Casa Bonita Denver and The Beautiful House, a company owned by Parker and Stone.
Andrew Novick, founder of Save Casa Bonita, an organization dedicated to bringing the concept out of bankruptcy, estimated the intellectual property rights to be around $4 million. Novick told Westword that his group and a private investor made a $6.75 million offer for the restaurant’s assets and intellectual rights, but lost out to Stone and Parker.
The nearly 50-year-old restaurant features a 30-foot waterfall, cliff divers, stage shows, musicians, and amusement arcade inside 52,000 square feet. The restaurant can hold 1,000 people and was declared a historic landmark by the Lakewood Historical Society. In-person dining at Casa Bonita has been prohibited since March 2020, but a few months ago the venue began offering backstage tours each day and reopened the gift shop and arcade. The website said dining will return soon.
Stone and Parker told Colorado Gov. Jared Polis about their intentions to buy Casa Bonita in mid-August during a celebration of South Park’s 24th anniversary. Both visited the eatertainment outlet growing up, and the famous television series dedicated an entire episode to the restaurant, entitled “Casa Bonita.”
“We know that there have been a lot of people in Colorado that love Casa Bonita and have been working on this and we’re excited to work with everybody and make it the place we all want to make it,” Parker said.
