The Resurrection of Casa Bonita

[santalar]

Does anybody know what is up with the re-opening of Casa Bonita?

I am excited to see that the restaurant is going to re-open. I was sad when the name was changed to Casa Viva and depressed when Casa Viva closed last year ending a nearly 4 decade Tulsa Tradition.

This morning however, I was driving by 21st & Sheridan and saw some banners on the front of the Casa Bonita building.

So I drove through the parking lot to see. The banners said "Casa Bonita Now Hiring." I should have stopped, went inside and asked the people there but I did not. I was so excited about the idea that Casa Bonita being resurrected I had to get back to office and call friends and family to tell them what I saw.

But now I am curious? Who owns Casa Bonita now? When is it going to open? Anybody know?

[sgrizzle]

The Casa Bonita name is still owned by Old country Buffet.

Really surprised to see this reopen.

[Townsend]

I'd gotten the impression that quality was lacking prior to Casa Bonita closing.  Was I misinformed?

[Ibanez]

We went there after it reopened as Casa Viva.

It was AWFUL!

[joiei]

I went there about 5 years ago and thought it was about the worst food I had ever paid for.  Then I went back when it was Casa Viva and found out that it could get worse.  Twice burnt,  I doubt I will go again.

[sgrizzle]

Who goes for the taste?

[RecycleMichael]

Family theme Mexican restaurants never work.

Change the place to a tequila bar and have daily margarita specials.

[santalar]

Maybe I am getting overly optimistic and sentimental in my middle ages. Casa Bonita in the 70's & 80's was my family's favorite place to eat when I was kid.

I agree that since the 1990's the food quality has sucked. When it became Casa Viva it became worse even though it was opened by the original owners.

I am still curious about the re-opening, though. Maybe I will drive back by and ask the people inside.

[Conan71]

Casa Bonita opening again???  Oh the humanity!

Blecch, ghack...sputter...

[PonderInc]

The main thing I remember about Casa Bonita was "raising the flag" for more sopapillas.  I vaguely remember that you could pretend you were outdoors at night...when you were inside the building.  Seemed very cool to my elementary school mind.  But mostly it was about the flag...

[santalar]

Casa Bonita at 21st & Sheridan is scheduled to re-open near the end of June 2008. Casa Bonita is now owned by Star Buffet.

Bill Waugh opened the Tulsa Casa Bonita in 1971. Unigate (now Uniq) bought Casa Bonita from Bill Waugh in 1982. Unigate sold Casa Bonita to CKE Restaurants in 1997. The Tulsa and Denver locations were later spun off by CKE to Star Buffet.

The Tulsa location closed in September 2005 due to the end of their lease. Bill Waugh the original owner tried to re-vive the restaurant and re-opened under the name of Casa Viva. Casa Viva lasted until December 2007.

Casa Viva also had a Little Rock Arkansas location but appears to be defunct. The Casa Viva Website is gone also.

So I guess the good old days are gone.

[Steve]

Just some Tulsa Casa Bonita history for anyone that cares:

I remember vividly, the Casa Bonita location at 21st & Sheridan was an IGA grocery store all through the 1960s.  It was a Phelps, Stocktons and other IGA grocery stores.  In late 1970, sold for development as Casa Bonita.  Casa Bonita opened in 1971, and I remember this clearly as I was in 9th grade at Whitney Jr. High, with their famous "all you can eat" Mexican dinner for $1.89! (drink extra of course)  This included unlimited main course refills and desert sopipillas.  The food was average Tex Mex variety, and you could feed a family of 4 for less than $10.00!  Not to mention the atmosphere and unique interior attractions.  Times have really changed.

[chlfan]

Yeah Steve-I remember all that stuff. Do you also recall the huge yellow slide in the parking lot just to the north of that building? You'd grab a burlap bag, climb the stairs and then catch some air on the way down.A lot of other memories in the shopping center as well.

[bugo]

quote:Originally posted by santalar
Casa Viva also had a Little Rock Arkansas location but appears to be defunct.

There was a Casa Bonita at Asher and University up until probably the early 90s.  I remember it closing, and something else opening in its place, probably Casa Viva.  Asher and University isn't the best part of Little Rock these days, and is about 3-4 miles from the nearest freeway access, so those are probably some of the reasons it failed.  If they built a new one in west Little Rock it would probably succeed.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by chlfan

Yeah Steve-I remember all that stuff. Do you also recall the huge yellow slide in the parking lot just to the north of that building? You'd grab a burlap bag, climb the stairs and then catch some air on the way down.A lot of other memories in the shopping center as well.

No, I do not recall any "super slide" in the vicinity of Casa Bonita at 21st & Sheridan, and I lived in the area from 1960 until 1976.  I do remember a "super slide" as you described just south of the old Oertles Department Store on Memorial at about 28th Street.