The creators of South Park save the famous Colorado restaurant Casa Bonita

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are set to unveil their Colorado Mexican restaurant after spending more than $40 million renovating the quirky childhood favorite.

Casa Bonita in the Denver suburb of Lakewood first opened in 1974 and, with its 56,000 square feet of caverns, caves, waterfalls and plunge pools, became a regular fixture of children’s birthday parties and family dinners.

The restaurant even gained recognition with its own special episode of South Park, the show created by Parker and Stone, who stepped in when Casa Bonita was declared bankrupt in 2020.

Parker, 53, and Stone, 52, both Colorado residents, initially thought they would need $10 million to renovate and reopen their favorite childhood haunt, which had fallen into disrepair and was eventually killed by the pandemic.

When it doubled to $20 million, they were advised to pull out, but the pair said they ended up spending “infinite dollars” on the passion project.

The restaurant’s 52,000 square feet features caverns, caves, waterfalls, and plunge pools

The creative duo told the New York Times “we could have rebuilt this twice the size, for half the money, but we spent so much money restoring it, like a work of art.”

Some of the most demanding renovations have included the cliff diving pool, where divers perform while visitors eat, where the swimmers exited the water before closing time in 2020 through a 30-inch-wide underwater tunnel brimming with conduits, into an electrical room.

“There was 200 amps directly to the left,” said Scott Shoemaker, who oversaw the renovations.

“When I saw it, I called Matt and told him, ‘This is the most dangerous room I’ve ever seen,’ he added.

The new pool is 4 meters deep and offers the divers a wider and safer way out.

Another tricky part of the restoration was finding the right shade of pink for the building’s iconic exterior and gold for the name letters.

“Twenty-seven different attempts,” Shoemaker explained to The Times, adding that it took nine for the gold letters alone.

The interior decorations also demanded attention, the four fake deciduous trees and the 62 fake palm trees had to have fake leaves removed, cleaned and repainted.

The iconic restaurant fell into disrepair and was declared bankrupt in 2020

Casa Bonita in the Denver suburb of Lakewood first opened in 1974

The renovation cost was first estimated at $10 million, but quickly rose to $40 million

It took 27 tries to get the right shade of pink for the building’s iconic exterior

The restaurant now has four new bars and a new ticketing plaza to reduce waiting times

The new pool is 4 meters deep and offers the divers a wider and safer way out

The restaurant now has four new bars and a new ticketing plaza to reduce waiting times.

The food has also improved dramatically. Before its closure, the restaurant had earned the nickname ‘Casa no-eata’ due to the state of its culinary endeavors.

Dana Rodriguez, a six-time James Beard Award nominee, has taken over as the new head chef.

Ms. Rodriguez immigrated from Chihuahua, Mexico in 1998 and applied for her first job at Casa Bonita but was rejected because she was not qualified.

She went on to establish several celebrated restaurants, including Work & Class, in Denver, and has her own Tequila brand, Doña Loca.

When she learned that Casa Bonita might reopen under new ownership, she applied for the top job in 2021. “Am I now qualified?” she said she asked.

Now with her own staff of 110, she will oversee the menu of what will become one of the world’s largest Mexican restaurants.

Each night, one hundred and eighty-eight gallons of mole sauce is made for the chicken, in addition to enchiladas with red and green sauce, chili-braised brisket, and chili relleno.

The price for the menu has not yet been set, but more than 100,000 potential customers have already signed up on the restaurant’s website to make reservations, Mr Stone said.

“What we’ve come to realize in recent months is that we now have a lot of work to do to make it a sustainable business,” Parker told The Times.

Adding: “It’s such a visceral place, that’s what I hope makes it so cool.”

“That’s worth infinite dollars,” Stone agreed.