The iconic Casa Bonita in Lakewood, Colorado, is getting a second chance thanks to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Due to the pandemic, the restaurant had been closed since March 2020, and the owners, Summit Family Restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year. According to court documents filed in April, Casa Bonita, which has the capacity to seat more than 1,000 people at a time, was losing around $40,000 a month.

Summit Family Restaurants was also confronted about the unfair treatment of its workers during the pandemic, which ultimately led to one discrimination lawsuit and multiple employees reporting unpaid wages.

That said, Parker and Stone, along with others involved in the creation of South Park have fond memories of the “eatertainment” restaurant and refused to see it waste away.

“It’s just sitting there. It sucks,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter. “For a moment, when it was like Casa Bonita is going to close down, we said, ‘We’re going to buy it.’ And I felt like it was the crowning achievement of my life.”

Keith Pizzi, a representative with Park County, Parker and Stone’s company, signed the purchase agreement in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado accompanied by the name “The Beautiful Opco, LLC,” which records show shares the same address as Park County.

The purchase agreement, which still has to be signed off on by a federal bankruptcy judge, was first reported by Westword.

Though the restaurant itself is still closed for service, guided tours of the legendary Casa Bonita resumed earlier in the summer.

Stone promises that once Casa Bonita can be up and running again, the quality of the food will certainly improve under their ownership.

Source image: The Denver Post/Hyoung Chang