The cars started arriving early on March 27, 1974,* the day Casa Bonita opened at 6715 West Colfax Avenue. They came from all over Colorado, even Wyoming and Kansas. Everyone wanted to see the 52,000 square-foot pink entertainment palace that Bill Waugh had brought to metro Denver, after opening earlier incarnations in other cities.
Today, the Lakewood location is the sole survivor...and for a long time, it was uncertain whether this Casa Bonita would be around to mark its fiftieth anniversary. It shuttered on March 17, 2020, the day, and never reopened to offer to-go orders or limited dining, as other eateries did. Then in April 2021, Summit Family Restaurants Inc.
, which also offers skis and snowboards decorated by an artist who lives in that renowned winter recreation state of Georgia. And for the first time, there's a third judge: designer Mona Lucero, brought in to handle what Novick and Rudolph assume will be a last-second flurry of submissions by the February 6 deadline day. Artists new and experienced are welcome to submit any genre of work inspired by Casa Bonita, although in light of the Krumpholz situation, Next does offer this warning:"The Casa Bonita logo and font are trademarked and cannot be used in your artwork.