Casa Bonita

[farmer17]

Worked there for a couple years in high school and junior college. That was back when the line would go out the door, around the corner, and to the back of the building.

The place had seating for 720 and we would go for two or three hours with no more than 4 or 5 open tables. People just kept coming off "the line" with trays of food. We had a map of the whole place with holes drilled into plexiglass on each table. We used color coded golf tees to map out what was clean (green), what had been bussed up (yellow) and what was dirty, but available (red).

Two or three people on walkie talkies would make laps all night long and radio the results to the two people with the map. One listened and changed out tees, and the other told the waiter which table to take the customers to. It was insane, but oddly enough, worked most of the time.

In a lot of ways, I grew up in that place. Fond memories.

Oh, and when I was cooking sopapillas, I went through 350 pounds of dough in one Friday night.

I worked at Casa Bonita from 1975-1977, washed dishes, waited tables, cooked every item, walkie talkies, and serving line. I worked a LOT of hours and had 10 grand in the bank when I graduated from Hale High School which was a lot of cash back then. The work was hard but the girl to boy ratio was 4 -1 so I enjoyed most of my time there.

 

[Bocephus123]

I worked at Casa Bonita from 1975-1977, washed dishes, waited tables, cooked every item, walkie talkies, and serving line. I worked a LOT of hours and had 10 grand in the bank when I graduated from Hale High School which was a lot of cash back then. The work was hard but the girl to boy ratio was 4 -1 so I enjoyed most of my time there.

Great example for kids today to follow.

 

[Dorkus]

I met the Ponchos owner on a flight once many years ago, great guy. He owned several and was flying back from the one in Phoenix to OKC.

 

[n423]

We ate at both Casa Bonita and later on Panchos. Ate at both many times.

 

[Tinytim]

When I was a kid it was a special treat for our family to eat there a couple of times a year.

I remember Shotgun Sam's but not Frank's.

Same here, our favorite pizza was shakeys

 

[JEVapa]

Spring cleaning, found this in a file cabinet. Adjusted for inflation translates to around $12. I can’t eat like that anymore, but back in the day I raised that flag a bunch. View attachment 268261

Is it like a Panchos? That was our favorite place back in the day.

 

[ICanFixIt]

56 posts in this thread and nobody has said anything about the roaches crawling up the walls at Crystals.

 

[Bocephus123]

56 posts in this thread and nobody has said anything about the roaches crawling up the walls at Crystals.

Don’t fool yourself they’re in the finest restaurants everywhere

 

[xtremerange]

Went a couple of times to the Casa Bonita in CO. If you have memories of it here in OK and you are in Denver, you should make a trip there.

Is the food authentic? No.
Is the food good? No.
Is it an experience? Yes.

 

[yukonjack]

Same here, our favorite pizza was shak

Went a couple of times to the Casa Bonita in CO. If you have memories of it here in OK and you are in Denver, you should make a trip there.

Is the food authentic? No.
Is the food good? No.
Is it an experience? Yes.

You might want to call ahead before heading to Denver….

https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/24/when-reopen-casa-bonita-denver-lakewood-colorado/