and a sign on the door said it was closed for business. Little Rock, Arkansas The Little Rock location opened in 1969 at the corner of University Avenue and Asher Avenue (at the time U.S. Highway 67/70), just south of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock campus. This location had many of the same features as its sister locations including a Garden Room, an El Pokey (a room themed as a Mexican jail), a fully functioning video arcade, and a gift shop. In its heyday, the Little Rock location was reported to have been the highest volume Mexican restaurant in the United States with annual sales of up to $2,500,000. That distinction would later go to the Denver location which would go on to post nearly $8,000,000 in sales on an annual basis. The restaurant closed and rebranded under the ownership of the Waugh family as "Casa Viva" on August 2, 1993, after a reported $250,000 was spent in renovations. It would revert to the original Casa Bonita branding in 1995, until closing permanently in 2005. Lakewood, Colorado The Lakewood location was built in 1973 and opened in early 1974 on Colfax Avenue west of Denver, along U.S. Route 40/I-70 Business. Similar in architecture to the Tulsa location (both were previously large retail store locations) features strolling mariachis, flame jugglers (no longer allowed in 2019 for violating fire code), and a waterfall with cliff divers. The website Roadside America mentions that the restaurant has "Wild West shootouts, brawling pirates, [and] a dancing gorilla" that "can be viewed while you eat." It also has a small puppet theater, a "haunted tunnel" called Black Bart's Cave, an arcade with a large skee-ball room, and a magic theater. The restaurant is 52,000 square feet and can seat up to 1,100 patrons. COVID-related financial problems In March 2020, the Lakewood location closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Colorado Governor Jared Polis stopped in-person dining for a two-month span from March 17 to May 26. In March, several employees reported that their most recent paychecks had bounced due to insufficient funds in the payroll account of Casa Bonita. The restaurant's website disappeared during the summer of 2020 sometime between July 7 and July 30. Former locations Hulen Mall, Fort Worth, Texas (1982–1985) Little Rock, Arkansas (1969–1993) (1995–2005) Similar restaurants Casa Bonita founder Bill Waugh founded a similar restaurant concept, Casa Viva. Unrelated to