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Mjcpr
9/28/2005, 03:48 PM
Tulsa's Casa Bonita Location Closing Friday

Tulsa - A Tulsa Mexican eating establishment that has been a mainstay at 21st and Sheridan will close its doors on Friday.

Officials at Casa Bonita confirmed to NewsChannel 8 Wednesday that the restaurant will be closing Friday night at 10:00 p.m.

The restaurant has been open since 1971. In fact, we're told some employees have been working there since its opening.

The 30-thousand square foot restaurant features a unique atmosphere that includes a 30-foot waterfall, 'twinkling' stars in the ceiling and walls that look like caves.

A favorite of children, the restaurant also includes a puppet theater, a strolling Mariachi band and an arcade. Patrons will also remember the small flags on each table that you could raise to signal a waiter.

The reasoning behind the restaurant's closing hasn't been released. It's also not known what this decision means for a second Casa Bonita location in Lakewood, Colorado.

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0905/264076.html

GDC
9/28/2005, 03:54 PM
I've got to go eat there one last time.

Stanley1
9/28/2005, 03:56 PM
This makes me unbelievably sad in my pants. :(

Rhino
9/28/2005, 03:57 PM
That sucks.

OUthunder
9/28/2005, 03:58 PM
Let's observe a moment of silence please.

JohnnyMack
9/28/2005, 03:58 PM
I haven't been this sad since, well, since never I don't think.

:(

Mjcpr
9/28/2005, 04:04 PM
Let's observe a moment of silence please.
Brrrrrrrrrrt!

OklahomaTuba
9/28/2005, 04:19 PM
wow.

Someones actually been working there since 1971? Holys**t!

achiro
9/28/2005, 04:28 PM
Brings back some childhood memories for sure. :(

mdklatt
9/28/2005, 04:29 PM
n/m

Soonrboy
9/28/2005, 04:32 PM
Man alive! I don't think it had ever been dusted since 1971 also...but, what a fun place that was.

swardboy
9/28/2005, 04:34 PM
Really saddened to hear that!

swardboy
9/28/2005, 04:39 PM
Hmmmm....it says possibly because of a "lease dispute"....any empty 30,000 s.f. warehouses in Tulsa sitting empty?

OklahomaTrombone
9/28/2005, 04:48 PM
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

MamaMia
9/28/2005, 04:52 PM
I'll miss the little flags. :(

Stanley1
9/28/2005, 04:55 PM
I'll miss the little fags. :(

I know the wait staff was a little feminine, but that comment was uncalled for IMO.

mdklatt
9/28/2005, 04:55 PM
I'll miss the little flags. :(

There's always Panchos.

achiro
9/28/2005, 05:42 PM
Remember when that was considered good mexican food? :D

mdklatt
9/28/2005, 05:44 PM
Remember when that was considered good mexican food? :D

Panchos?? Good lord, no. When was this?

IB4OU2
9/28/2005, 05:48 PM
Well that's to bad. We used to take the girls there about 20 years ago.

Mjcpr
9/28/2005, 06:19 PM
Crystal's Pizza was just down the parking lot.....that was a fun place too.

OklahomaTrombone
9/28/2005, 08:05 PM
man...Crystal's....

I think I'm gonna cry...

GDC
9/28/2005, 08:11 PM
crystal's burned, didn't it?

PhxSooner
9/28/2005, 08:13 PM
Ah, Crystal's...we went there after church alot. Bad pizza, good make-your-own sundaes! First place I played Pac-Man and skee-ball.

We quit going to Casa Bonita sometime in the early '80s. I always liked how dark it was.

SoonerInKCMO
9/28/2005, 09:00 PM
OK - Someone help me out here - my memory is failing me.

Was there ever a Casa Bonita in OKC? If not, what was the name of the restaurant where you raised your flag to get the waitress (like at Casa Bonita)?

TIA!

GDC
9/28/2005, 09:05 PM
I neve ate there but I thought there once was one in OKC.

TopDaugIn2000
9/28/2005, 09:13 PM
oh man this makes me SAD. We used to eat there nearly every trip to Tulsa. :( :( :(

Oldnslo
9/28/2005, 09:20 PM
Crystal's closing was a sad day. Casa Bonita's... not so much.

Stanley1
9/28/2005, 09:33 PM
Yea, there was one in OKC. There were only 3 total, and I've eaten at each. Tulsa, OKC, and Denver.

BajaOklahoma
9/28/2005, 09:33 PM
39th and Portland. Long gone.
After several episodes of post-Casa Bonita "stomach distress," my mother refused to let us go there.
I miss Chi Chi's on the NW Highway.

GDC
9/28/2005, 09:45 PM
Just pick up some Taco Bueno and go find a cave to eat it in.

tulsaoilerfan
9/28/2005, 09:46 PM
We used to eat there, but haven't been there in at least 15 years i would guess; El Chico has much better food, but this was a great place to visit at one time.

John

SoonerInKCMO
9/28/2005, 09:49 PM
39th and Portland. Long gone.

Yes! That's where it was.

I remember that it was a big deal to go there for us because it was all the way across town from MWC (hey - a 30 minute drive for a little kid is a long ways).

SoonersEnFuego
9/28/2005, 10:08 PM
This was by far the worst news I have received in my whole life.

I'm going to miss those neon orange cheese enchiladas that get caught in your throat. All you can eat I might add.

devOUt
9/28/2005, 10:27 PM
Casa Bonita is closing?

The cats and chihuahuas of Tulsa will rejoice!

BeetDigger
9/28/2005, 10:55 PM
I think I may go fill the tub up and and jump in with candles, just to recreate the diving scene.

We used to go to the one in Denver, out on west Colfax, often when I was a kid. First time was around 1975. I hope they don't close that one.

SicEmBaylor
9/28/2005, 11:03 PM
I can't believe I'm going to do this but I'm going to drive home just to eat there one last time.

I have so many memories there. I'd eat there after every swim meet for like 10 years.
Good times.

Stanley1
9/28/2005, 11:08 PM
I can't believe I'm going to do this but I'm going to drive home just to eat there one last time.

I have so many memories there. I'd eat there after every swim meet for like 10 years.
Good times.

You from Tulsa? What highschool?

SicEmBaylor
9/28/2005, 11:10 PM
You from Tulsa? What highschool?

Small town outside of Tulsa actually. I spent so much time there though I just say I'm from Tulsa.

I'll PM you my HS.

Boomhauer
9/29/2005, 07:47 AM
Small town outside of Tulsa actually. I spent so much time there though I just say I'm from Tulsa.

I'll PM you my HS.


It's just a high school man.

Probably from Tulsa Webster. Doesn't want to be associated with the "broomstick" incident. :texan:

Stanley1
9/29/2005, 07:52 AM
It's just a high school man.

Probably from Tulsa Webster. Doesn't want to be associated with the "broomstick" incident. :texan:

:mad:

Veritas
9/29/2005, 07:56 AM
Googled "Tulsa Webster broomstick."

That is some ****ed up repugnant ****.

TopDaugIn2000
9/29/2005, 08:03 AM
This was by far the worst news I have received in my whole life.

I'm going to miss those neon orange cheese enchiladas that get caught in your throat. All you can eat I might add.

WORD

mmmmmmmmmm

SicEmBaylor
9/29/2005, 10:15 PM
So I drove home tonight to eat at Casa Bonita one last time. I got there around 5:00 and the line was OUTRAGEOUS. It was back all the way around the corner to that big wall at the back of the parking lot.

We got inline just a little after 5:00 and finally got our food at 7:25.

I took a few pics of the line to give everyone an idea of how crowded it was. The cool thing was seeing the number of people there who grew up eating at Casa Bonita and wanted to eat there one last time.

Lots of people had cameras and after everyone ate they'd take one last tour or walkthrough of the place before leaving. It was all very sad I thought.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/SicEmBaylor/S4020068.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/SicEmBaylor/S4020067.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/SicEmBaylor/S4020072.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/SicEmBaylor/S4020071.jpg

SicEmBaylor
9/29/2005, 10:17 PM
Also, they had to cut the line off around 7:30 or so because they were running completely out of food. There was a little uncertainty among the staff about whether they could get enough food there by tomorrow to open up for a full day.

I also found out from one of the guys who works there that they got outbid on their lease by the original owner of Casa Bonita and the man who built it in the first place. His plans are to completely gut it out and turn it into a new Mexican place called "Casa V-Something (don't remember the exact name)." The plan is to completely gut it out and make it into a kind of 4 star mexican restaurant catering more to adults than to kids.

SoonerInKCMO
9/29/2005, 10:52 PM
Why didn't you take any pictures of hot chicks?

OklahomaTrombone
9/29/2005, 10:52 PM
Why didn't you take any pictures of hot chicks?


He was at Casa Bonita.


Duh.

Stanley1
9/29/2005, 11:02 PM
I also found out from one of the guys who works there that they got outbid on their lease by the original owner of Casa Bonita and the man who built it in the first place. His plans are to completely gut it out and turn it into a new Mexican place called "Casa V-Something (don't remember the exact name)." The plan is to completely gut it out and make it into a kind of 4 star mexican restaurant catering more to adults than to kids.

F*** that guy.

KC//CRIMSON
9/29/2005, 11:12 PM
Rolaids and Pepto-Bismol have made a fortune off of that place.........mmmm plastic cheese!

SicEmBaylor
9/30/2005, 12:19 AM
He was at Casa Bonita.


Duh.

Hahaha yes exactly. There wasn't much eye candy let me tell you.

Stanley1
9/30/2005, 12:22 AM
Hahaha yes exactly. There wasn't much eye candy let me tell you.

I was going to try to make it up there tomorrow before they closed, but it doesn't look like that'll happen.

At least my last memory there (taking my niece and nephew about a year ago) will be a good one.

GDC
9/30/2005, 09:47 PM
http://mile-21.com/v-web/gallery/albums/Casa-Bonita!/DSCN0481.jpg

SicEmBaylor
9/30/2005, 10:13 PM
http://mile-21.com/v-web/gallery/albums/Casa-Bonita!/DSCN0481.jpg

**** I must have gotten there too late.

Stanley1
9/30/2005, 11:45 PM
http://mile-21.com/v-web/gallery/albums/Casa-Bonita!/DSCN0481.jpg

You've got my attention gdc.

OklahomaTrombone
9/30/2005, 11:47 PM
I do believe that is Casa Bonita: Denver

OU-HSV
9/30/2005, 11:49 PM
Holy **** no way can casa bonita close their doors for good....I love that place, and have eaten there for years. In fact when my wife and I were car shopping a couple weekends ago we found a restaurant in Little Rock called Casa Viva....identical to Casa Bonita...this is very depressing news.

OU-HSV
9/30/2005, 11:53 PM
....His plans are to completely gut it out and turn it into a new Mexican place called "Casa V-Something (don't remember the exact name)." The plan is to completely gut it out and make it into a kind of 4 star mexican restaurant catering more to adults than to kids.
Wow..after I posted my last message I read this. If Casa Viva is what your thinking of...then no one has to worry cause the one in Little Rock is exactly like the Casa Bonita in Tulsa.

GDC
10/1/2005, 08:56 AM
.


Casa Viva restaurant on menu
By DEBBIE BLOSSOM World Staff Writer
10/1/2005

View in Print (PDF) Format




The business plans to open later this year in the ex-Casa Bonita space.
A Mexican restaurant similar to Casa Bonita, which closed Friday, will open later this year in the same space in Alameda Shopping Center.

Casa Bonita founder Bill Waugh, who runs Dallas-based Waugh Enterprises Inc., has leased the building and will open his second Casa Viva restaurant, an operation that mirrors much of what for decades drew customers to the family-oriented, theme park-style Casa Bonita at 21st Street and Sheridan Road.

"The setup is the same," said Jeff Stewart, chief financial officer of Waugh Enterprises.

In its final days of operation, customers flocked to Casa Bonita, standing in line for hours to have one final meal at the Tulsa landmark. In fact, the restaurant ran out of food Thursday evening and had to close its doors early. It reopened Friday for the lunch crowd, which began arriving as early as 10 a.m.

When Casa Viva opens, the 26,000- square-foot restaurant will retain its entertaining decor, offer an all-you-can-eat dinner and still feature those little flags that diners raise to order more food. The big difference will be the improved cuisine, Stewart said.

"The

food will be a lot better."

Waugh opened the original Casa Viva in Little Rock about 10 years ago in a space that had been occupied by a Casa Bonita restaurant. That was long after he sold the company formed to operate five Casa Bonita restaurants and the Taco Bueno fast-food chain, which he started in the late 1960s.

The longtime restaurateur also owns the 19-unit Burger Street hamburger chain, which has locations in Tulsa and the Dallas area.

Bringing Casa Viva to Tulsa is a natural progression for the company, Stewart said.

"We have an interest in Tulsa because of Burger Street," and even as work gets under way at Casa Viva, the Burger Street concept is being broadened.

The chain is expanding into Owasso with a location at Smith Farm Marketplace along U.S. 169, just south of 96th Street North, near the end of this year.

The restaurant will be a Burger Street Cafe, a 3,000-square-foot eatery much larger than the Burger Street sites in Tulsa, which are as small as 700 square feet. The menu also is being expanded to include salads and baked potatoes, ice cream and slushes, Stewart said.

The chain is growing and embracing a fast-casual segment, he said, because customers continually comment on the quality of the food and service.

"It's all about being consistently good and serving a good product," he said. "We think there's a demand for that -- good food at reasonable prices.

"We consider our one-third pound burger to be a premium product."

As he expands the Burger Street and Casa Viva concepts, Waugh has returned to his restaurant roots and opened a new Mexican fast-food eatery, Taco Viva, near Irving, Texas.

Two more Taco Viva sites are scheduled to open in the Dallas area this year, and the company is in the process of securing a space in Tulsa for a fourth location.

Stewart said Waugh is excited to be doing more business in Tulsa, and while the Casa Viva restaurant will probably be the only location in town, expansion elsewhere in Oklahoma is possible.

"We want to grow," he said, "and we want to have more Burger Streets."

Waugh sold his original company in 1982 to British food production company Unigate, now called Uniq. Unigate then sold the restaurants to CKE Restaurants -- the parent company today of Carl's Jr., Hardee's and La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill -- in the 1990s, Stewart said.

CKE sold the Carrollton, Texas-based Taco Bueno division to a private equity group, and Salt Lake City-based restaurant company Star Buffet acquired Casa Bonita, he said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Debbie Blossom 581-8387
[email protected]

OUthunder
10/1/2005, 09:36 AM
gdc has excellent taste in women and food.

StoopTroup
10/1/2005, 10:07 AM
I wouldn't let my dog **** outside that place.

Dinner at Speedy's across the street...much better.

Nice folks too.

GDC
7/14/2006, 03:28 PM
Anyone been since it re-opened as Casa Viva?

TheLurker
7/14/2006, 06:35 PM
My brother and I went a few weeks ago for lunch.

It's not really that much different. The food was somewhat better, however my favorite part of the deluxe all-you-can-eat dinner (the cheese enchilada) was not as good as before. the "queso" they pour over it was thinner and didn't have as much flavor as the old stuff did. That also affected my most favorite part of the meal. You'll remember how they use to put half of a broken taco shell under the taco to keep the taco from getting all soggy, well I always loved that soggy cheesy half of a taco shell. Now they just put a couple of chips under the taco.

The arcade had no new games, and they removed the carousel.

When I heard they were renovating the place, my first reaction was that they had sure as hell better keep the firefly that as a kid I had always made a point to turn around and look up at when I was in the part of the line between where you order and where you pick up your tray.

It was gone.

Oh and the volcano thing on the wall near the ceiling.

It was gone.

Oh and the little automated marionette thing at the entrance to the puppet show theatre.

It was gone.

Oh and the litlle clown on a unicycle that rides across a string.

It was gone.

So basically, they removed all the little things that I loved as a child, and they ****ed up the queso.

swardboy
7/14/2006, 06:45 PM
Was there a couple of weeks ago....my wife and I thought the food was very good. Last time I was there was 1975, and this didn't disappoint. Maybe the best guacomole I've ever had. And O Lord, the sopapillas with honey poured inside....sinful! As Arnold says, "Ah'll be bahck."

LoyalFan
7/15/2006, 01:47 AM
I know the wait staff was a little feminine, but that comment was uncalled for IMO.

So, you'll miss the little fags?

LF

GDC
7/17/2006, 09:23 PM
I'm going to go try it tomorrow.

SOONER44EVER
7/17/2006, 09:33 PM
We went there a few weeks ago on the way home from Grand Lake. The food was better and it seemed cleaner. It looked like they had repainted a lot of it.

SicEmBaylor
7/17/2006, 09:38 PM
We went there a few weeks ago on the way home from Grand Lake. The food was better and it seemed cleaner. It looked like they had repainted a lot of it.

They didn't tear out all of the inside decor did they though? If they repaired stuff and made it cleaner then all the better!

Sooner24
7/17/2006, 10:00 PM
This is just another reason OKC pwns Tulsa.

SicEmBaylor
7/17/2006, 10:01 PM
I'd take a fist full of dryer lent over central OK and OKC any day of the week.
Give me Green Country and Tulsa or give me death.

Sooner24
7/17/2006, 10:04 PM
I'd take a fist full of dryer lent over central OK and OKC any day of the week.
Give me Green Country and Tulsa or give me death.


Die, scum, die!!! ;)

Sooner24
7/17/2006, 10:10 PM
I have spent copious amounts of time in both places while working over the years and OKC is easier to get around, has Bricktown and is cleaner. The only thing Tulsa has over OKC is Roy Mercer. I always enjoyed Whipass Thursday. :D

GDC
7/20/2006, 12:59 PM
Casa Viva still has that cool ambience I loved as a kid, unfortunately it made several memebers of my group ill.

SoonerInKCMO
7/20/2006, 01:07 PM
Casa Viva still has that cool ambience I loved as a kid, unfortunately it made several memebers of my group ill.

So... the same as it ever was?

GDC
7/20/2006, 01:07 PM
pretty much