By Tiney Ricciardi

Copyright denverpost

For a limited time this fall, Casa Bonita will be reimagined as a seasonal pop-up that aims to celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.

Starting Sept. 30, the iconic Lakewood restaurant will be known as Casa BOOnita, with festive decor and other surprises, co-owner Matt Stone told The Denver Post in an exclusive interview. Its spooky aesthetic is expected to stay up through Nov. 2 and guests don’t need to pay for anything extra beyond their meal to enjoy it.

While most of the changes are related to decor, certain roving performers will also be removed from the floor during the length of the pop-up, a move that’s triggered a dispute with the restaurant’s union.

Stone and Trey Parker, both creators of the TV series “South Park,” purchased the pink palace in 2021 and always envisioned doing something special to keep the experience fresh for guests. But as the two learned in reopening Casa Bonita — which ended up requiring two years and $40 million in renovations — executing the vision can be a massive undertaking.

This pop-up is something of a test to see how they can activate the restaurant for future holidays and special occasions. The idea, Stone added, is to “do something fun so Casa Bonita doesn’t become stodgy and stale.”

“It’s a really good example of what we’ve always wanted to do with Casa Bonita — is have it change and evolve and be a live place and vibrant and full of new surprises,” he said. “We’ve always believed in the possibility of what could be there, you know? That’s always fun to talk about, but to pull it off takes a lot of planning and a lot of production.”

Fans who snag a reservation are encouraged to get in the spirit by dressing up as their favorite characters. That’s part of the reason why guests who visit won’t see roving entertainers playing Black Bart, the Sheriff, Amazon Ani and Captain Isabella during the pop-up.

“It would be confusing for patrons,” Stone said. “So we decided to do something different, right? And this is going to be something that goes on with Casa Bonita from now on. We always want it to be a evolving canvas of performers and patrons.”

That means possibly special activations for the Fourth of July or Christmas, he added.

On Thursday, the Actors’ Equity Association, which represents Casa Bonita’s unionized performers, filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board due to changes with the cast. Andrea Hoeschen, general counsel for the association, said the communication those workers received was open-ended and suggested that those characters may be sidelined again in the future.

“We were under the impression that positions were being eliminated at least through Nov. 2 and that there would be an evaluation of what happens next,” she said. “By eliminating those positions, Casa Bonita is eliminating at least 1,000 hours of work for the performers we represent just in the month of October.”

The people in those positions have had shifts cut already, Hoeschen added. “We do not understand what makes Casa think patrons don’t want to see these characters. We’re confused.”

Stone disputed the characterization that these roving performers would be nixed completely from the experience, calling it a “falsehood.”

“Of course, we’re not going to do that. Why would we do that?” he said. “We’re going to change them, we’re going to go with what works, eliminate what doesn’t work, we’re going to change it seasonally. We hope to program this place so Casa Bonita is this vibrant place. That’s always been our intention.”

“But obviously, Trey Parker is not going to eliminate Black Bart,” Stone added.

Casa Bonita currently has reservations available in October. Book one at casabonitadenver.com.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.