Casa Bonita gets ready for start of reservations, reveals more details about what will happen on Sept. 16

The landmark restaurant Casa Bonita in Colorado recently announced the date when people can begin to make reservations to dine there. Up to this point, patrons at the remodeled Lakewood establishment have all been required to have gotten an email invite.

Over the weekend Casa Bonita said they would begin accepting reservations to the general public on Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. through casabonitadenver.com. Then on Thursday they sent emails to a select group of fans saying some people will be able to make their reservations many hours before that.

The early access period is being set up for the hordes of fans of the Mexican restaurant who have been waiting for an email invite to eat there since it reopened more than a year ago and not received one. Emails to those people were sent out on Thursday afternoon and said "It's our way of saying gracias for your patience." If you got one of those emails, you'll need to join what the restaurant is calling its "Founders Club."

"You showed up for Casa Bonita before you were allowed to actually show up at Casa Bonita, signing up for our email list before we'd served a single sopaipilla. ... So now we're welcoming you to be a Member of the most prestigious club in the world," the email from the restaurant's email reads.

For decades Casa Bonita served up Mexican food and fun -- including cliff diving -- at its location on East Colfax Avenue in the Denver metro area. The pandemic forced a shutdown of the restaurant, and it took "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to jump in and purchase the establishment for it to slowly get back to life.

There's still no timeline for when walk-in customers might be able to dine at Casa Bonita like they used to.