posts from another thread...


I can relate. I have driven quite a ways "just to eat" (of course always end up expanding the trip so it isn't just that...LOL). Used to go up to Tulsa about every 6 weeks for Casa Bonita and the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. We used to drive to Chickasha/Jake's Rib for Mother's Day, birthdays and such.

The farthest I have traveled for food is Denver (Casa Bonita again), Little Rock (Black Angus) and Memphis (Corky's BBQ)


You know, when we moved up here a year and a half ago one of the first places we went was Casa Bonita. That place is frozen in the year 1987. Its exactly as I remember it being as a kid...only the food is horrible. Still an interesting place to visit for nostalgic purposes.


Are you talking about Tulsa or Denver? Oklahoma City opened in 1968, Tulsa & Little Rock in 71(?) and Denver in 1974, each a time capsule of the period to be sure. The Oklahoma City one did have a remodel in the late 80s/early 90s which practically eliminated the "Legend of Casa Bonita" (they got rid of the "Mexican village at night" main Courtyard, making it a more generic any-Mexican restaurant). Various Bonita locations had the distinction of being the highest grossing (no jokes please) mexican restaurants in the entire country. Of course that was before being able to find a Tex-Mex place on nearly every corner.

But I understand what you are saying and Casa Bonita has definitely had its ups/downs over the decades. It was on the downside when the Tulsa one closed the first time. Promises were made by the new Casa Viva owner (the original founder of Bonita) that the food quality would return (but it didn't improve by much if any). He had done the same with the Little Rock location when Bonita closed. Then when Viva closed (after an ice storm), Bonita made the same improved food promises. Sadly, the last time I was up there (last July) the food tasted like it had been frozen, shipped in from Denver and not completely thawed out. On a Sunday afternoon when the place should have been packed with the after church crowd, it was practically deserted. The AC was broken (only functioning dining area one was in the Governor's Mansion Room. It was a sad day for me because I know how great it had been and could be again if they only had management that had a passion for the place.

One thing that never changed was the quality of the sopaipilla's...they were always excellent!


http://i.imgur.com/njdwB.gif

I have many memories of Casa Bonita and its later incarnations as Casa Viva in Tulsa. I have some decor from the OKC and Tulsa/little Rock locations. Menus over the years from various ones (mostly Denver). Have eaten many meals at the OKC, Tulsa & Little Rock locations (once to Denver). The only location that existed that I missed was the Fort Worth one (it came and went before I even knew about it apparently).

Have many pictures of the Tulsa & Denver locations, but I haven't been able to find any of Little Rock, Fort Worth and especially OKC.

Wold love to get my hands on ANY pictures someone might have of the insides. Can have people in them (birthday parties etc). In fact while I like pics that show the details of the decor, there is something to be said about pics with people in them. A few of the pics I have of the empty restaurant are depressing. Ghost town like. Will be more than happy to pay to have copies made. Or if someone wants to scan and post high rez photos (post here or we can arrange some other method).

If anyone has one of the old paper menus of the OKC location and "The Legend of Casa Bonita" please let me know!!!

I was referring to the Denver location

Does anyone recall the Oklahoma City location as having a game room? The place closed back in 93 but I can't recall where one would have been located. It was the first Casa and one of the smallest (opened in 68 when the All you can eat Deluxe Dinner was $1.47 and drinks were 15 cents!). The only areas I remember were:

• serving line (where you could look out into a walled outside garden area which is still there on the east side of the building, but horribly overgrown),

• the main Courtyard area, surrounded by the Mexican Village at night facades (later destroyed in the remodel when they added the skylight). The half-fountain (still attached to the wall as you exited the serving line) and the Sopapillia(sp) station

• The Governors Mansion room that could be closed off for parties (had 2 large crystal or wrought iron chandeliers) and

• what I call the Side Alley (brick wall w/Mexico stamped bricks, still there) with an entry into the Kitchen area but metal roofing facade with fake chickens on top.

• At the end of the Alley was a small intimate dining area that had a few booths in it.

• There may have been a small gift shop area towards the exit along with the cashier booth

Some articles that I have run across again in the Oklahoman archives suggest that there was a game room and caves (think the writer was confusing OKC with the Tulsa location). I definitely don't recall any caves, jail, waterfall, vineyard etc that other locations had (the space was just to small to incorporate all of it).

If anyone has ANYTHING (family pictures, postcards, old menus etc from the OKC location) I would really like to get in contact with you.

Am especially interested in printed copy of the "Legend of Casa Bonita" that was either printed on the back of the paper menus or may have even been a separate flier.

Have 100s of pictures (taken myself and found on the net of the Tulsa and Denver locations), but don't have any pictures specifically from Little Rock or OKC (lived in both places) or the short lived location that was in Fort Worth.

I worked at the OKC location from 74 to 77. All the below is what we called things.

The main area was called Section A and Section B. They were separated by a tiny, free standing room in the middle where a girl sat and handed out goodies to the kids.

What you call the Side Alley was two large rooms, Section C and D, and the small dining room of two tables and two booths, Section E.

There was also the Garden Room. It was a glass enclosed atrium that ran the length of the building on the east side, parallel to the serving line. One of my jobs for much of my time there was tending the garden outside the Garden Room. At first I looked at it as punishment for something until one day George, the general manager at the time, explained that the garden was his baby and he had me take care of it because I was really good at it.

What you're calling the Governors Mansion room was the PDR (Private Dining Room). It was only used on weekends when busy and for private parties. Many of us , me included, believe it was haunted for a while by an employee who died in a car accident while on vacation, but that's another story.

There was not a gift shop.

Also, unless it was something added after 79 or so there was not a sopapilla station in the dining or serving area. We servers went back into the kitchen to get to get them straight from the heat lamp tray next to the poor guy who got stuck cooking them that night. Cooking them is a hot and greasy job. I know.

^^^
Thanks for the info. Do you have ANY pics or ANYTHING from your time there?

A yes, the Treasure Room, where you exchanged your token or paper Casa Bonita "money", for a piece of penny candy

What about a game room? The article that announced the auction after they closed in 1993, mentioned ski-ball machines would be for sale. I went to the auction and can't recall any games at all being included. The auction was a "walk-thru" type where they put numbered tags on everything that was for sale and the sold items "as is, where is". the auction started at the beginning of the serving line and IIRC, the first items auctioned were individual name plates on the employee service plaques. There were quite a few former employees there that wanted their name. The buyer was responsible for removing the item, be it wall decor, restaurant equipment, fixtures etc. It surprised me when I saw the ski-ball mentioned, because they take up a fairly good sized footprint (much more than a pinball machine or video arcade game) and just can't imagine where they would have had the space for a game room.

Apparently the sopapillia station was added as part of the 1986 remodel (which destroyed the main room when they added the skylight). It was at the exit of the serving line (where the wall mounted fountain was installed, then a door to the kitchen area and the sopappilia station (adjacent to the doorway leading to the "side alley"). Think the small stucture that enclosed the sopapillia/chip station is still there (it was just big enough for a couple of fryers and maybe squeeze in an employee or two) and the wall mounted fountain remained. The servers still had to get them though, customers weren't allowed.

Would LOVE to hear more about the haunting story...PLEASE post!

I really need to talk with a cousin, she worked there one year and was "Bananas" (she fit the monkey suit), she was also a server but she didn't last long (in high school and she didn't think you should actually have to work at work). LOL

Never thought about taking pictures as a teenager. Sorry.

Never had a game room unless it was also part of the remodel. I didn't go into the store after about 79 or 80.

Now that I think of it there were two monkey suits. A yellow one that was used most of the time. The girls had to be pretty small to fit it. Then there was a pink one. It was horribly ugly. But I think it was larger and was used when no small girl was on shift.

The haunting. There was a girl that had worked at Casa for a while. She loved the PDR and worked in the room whenever it was being used. She was on vacation in Mexico in 76 and was killed in a car wreck. Things started happening in the PDR. It didn't have an ice maker in the wait station like the other rooms, it just had a bin to keep ice in and you had to bring it out by bucket from the kitchen. Then it melted into a bucket that had to be carried back and dumped. After her death the ice seemed to melt much, much slower than normal. Hardly at all. Chairs seemed to arrange and straighten themselves if you left the room. There was a large, probably 4 by 6 foot, picture of a senorita (actually a portrait of the owners wife as a senorita) hanging on one wall. It was always crooked. But not after her death. It was always straight. Then there was the biggie. We had LOT'S of employee meetings. She had this thing of leaning back in a chair on the back two legs. Would always end up doing it during meetings and getting called out for it. Many of us, me included, would be one of the last to leave on some night and hear something in the PDR as we walked by. When you opened the door one random chair would be leaned back on it's back legs. As you came into the room it would set back down. As time went on all of these things faded and in a few months all was normal again.

Great story, am going to print that one out and it it to my Casa collection!

Was this Casa location around 39th and Portland? At eh East end of the strip mall there where the Chinese Buffet is now?

Yes. That's the place. It's empty and for lease now though. In the day from east to west it was Casa, TG&Y and a grocery store.

Pratt's IGA maybe?

Pratt's IGA maybe?

Yep! Pratt's it was.

I didn't realize that there used to be a TG&Y in that strip mall either. Ran across an article in the archives that mentioned they were closing it (and something about a fire down on the Pratts grocery store end) but Pratts reopened a few months later.

Yes it was Pratts but Pratts wasnt a IGA. Cant recall the guys name but i believe it was JB or Larry Pratt.

The grocery store was Hagee's. You would take your number from the front of your shopping cart and pull your car to the front sidewalk. There the sacker would place your groceries in your car. There was also a larger Hagee's on NE 23 and Spencer Rd. It has many items other than groceries. I bought and still have a 101 Dalmatians record tat I purchased there.

Rondvu, How about Hagee's and Pratts? I think it was Pratt's Well Market last before Pratt's went under. Well market meaning a good health food area as well as a lot of organic items.
C. T.

The grocery store was Hagee's. You would take your number from the front of your shopping cart and pull your car to the front sidewalk. There the sacker would place your groceries in your car. There was also a larger Hagee's on NE 23 and Spencer Rd. It has many items other than groceries. I bought and still have a 101 Dalmatians record tat I purchased there.

The Oklahoman archives doesn't show any match for Hagee's at that location (but several for Pratt's). Not familiar with that grocery store at all. As someone pointed out, Pratts doesn't ever show up with an IGA affiliation. The only archived results were Pratts ads where they mention that they beat IGA prices for the "last 6 weeks"


On edit: I couldn't find ANY match for Hagee's or Hagee, another way to spell it maybe??

On further edit, the Archives appear to be broken, did a search for Pratts and Casa Bonita and am now getting back Zero results (where multiple matches were found previously)

I worked for Pratt's from 1993-1995. The 39th and Portland store was at that location and had been for at least 10-15 years because my grandparents shopped there. 39th and Portland was the orginal Oklahom City store. Moore was the next one to be opened. The Spencer store was also a Pratt's. I believe that was the first Pratt's store to close. I think they closed it about the same time they opened the store in Holdenville. The Spencer store is actually smaller then the one on 39th. It is still there at 23rd and Spencer Road. It is has been converted into a strip shopping center. If your drive on the back side of the gas station you can still see the old recieving dock doors. The dock lanes have since been filled in with concrete.

Weeba's on 240/Walker and Griders on May were the only stores in the city that I remember the bagger giving you the plastic card. Griders had the baggers pass off your cart to the loaders out front. You gave your card to the loaders and they matched your card to the bag. Weeba's would put your bags in plastic tubs and give you a card off of the plastic tub. The plastic tubs moved outside on a coveyor system that sent it to the loaders in the drive thru outside. You then pulled through a drive thru and gave them the card to claim your groceries. Weeba's eventually became McCartney's (McCartney's alos had a store in what is now Aldi and Petco on NW Expressway and Rockwell) After McCartney's it was Crown IGA. When Crown went under Pratt's bought it and remodeled it. The old drive thru was removed and replaced with a floral and video department.

I liked working at the 240 Pratts because they had all kinds of hidden areas in there from the old Weeba's days. The upstairs area was old Weeba's coporate office and not used by Pratts. It was the ugliest thing you ever saw. Black and Orange velvet walls with mirrors every so many feet. A staircase lead down to the back store room. Our managers would use that as way to catch shoplifters. One could watch from the back while the other was in the open. I have some great memories of the old 240 Pratts store. I could write a book. Then again some of the stuff I saw swore I would take the grave with me.

Rondvu, How about Hagee's and Pratts? I think it was Pratt's Well Market last before Pratt's went under. Well market meaning a good health food area as well as a lot of organic items.
C. T.

That same building was a Big Ten Warehouse and a Whiskey River Ballroom among other things I can not remember.

http://archive.newsok.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=DOK/1973/04/06/55/Ad05505.xml&CollName=APA3_DOK_1970-1974&DOCID=1117828&PageLabelPrint=&skin=Oklahoman&AW=1307566421488&AppName=2&sPublication=DOK&sScopeID=UDR7&sSorting=Score%2cdesc&sQuery=hagee&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&sDateFrom=%2530%2531%2f%2530%2531%2f%2531%2539%253 7%2531&sDateTo=%2531%2532%2f%2533%2531%2f%2531%2539%2538% 2530&dc:creator=&PageLabel=&dc:publisher=&ViewMode=GIF This is the link to one of the Hagee ads I found. Looks like in the 60's there were quite a few Hagee Redbuds around town. I think by 1971 the location on NE 23rd and Spencer Rd. had closed.

Weeba's eventually became McCartney's (McCartney's alos had a store in what is now Aldi and Petco on NW Expressway and Rockwell) After McCartney's it was Crown IGA. When Crown went under Pratt's bought it and remodeled it. The old drive thru was removed and replaced with a floral and video department.

Not that it is that important but the McCartney's on NW Expressway became a Consumer's IGA instead of Crown IGA.

I vaguely recall the card system mentioned. Think it was at the Council/Expressway location but couldn't swear with any certainty...LOL

http://archive.newsok.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=DOK/1973/04/06/55/Ad05505.xml&CollName=APA3_DOK_1970-1974&DOCID=1117828&PageLabelPrint=&skin=Oklahoman&AW=1307566421488&AppName=2&sPublication=DOK&sScopeID=UDR7&sSorting=Score%2cdesc&sQuery=hagee&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&sDateFrom=%2530%2531%2f%2530%2531%2f%2531%2539%253 7%2531&sDateTo=%2531%2532%2f%2533%2531%2f%2531%2539%2538% 2530&dc:creator=&PageLabel=&dc:publisher=&ViewMode=GIF This is the link to one of the Hagee ads I found. Looks like in the 60's there were quite a few Hagee Redbuds around town. I think by 1971 the location on NE 23rd and Spencer Rd. had closed.

Well there ya go! Wasn't familiar with that Grocer at all. Also glad that the archives are working again!

Hagee's on 39th had good BBQ sandwiches around lunch-time--very basic--meat/sauce on a dinky-bun...5 for $1--a teenage piggy-boy's dream lunch...there was one on West Main in Norman back in the day...late 60's...

Hagee's on 39th had good BBQ sandwiches around lunch-time--very basic--meat/sauce on a dinky-bun...5 for $1--a teenage piggy-boy's dream lunch...there was one on West Main in Norman back in the day...late 60's...

Had a place in my hometown like that when I was growing up. You could get a few very tasty bbq sandwiches for a dollar, or if you were a wiseacre and ordered up greaseburgers, they were all too happy to oblige. They'd pull yours from the wettest and most meat barren corner of the pan. Such Idjuts dinna call them greaseburgers again, at least not while placing their orders.

Hagee's on 39th had good BBQ sandwiches around lunch-time--very basic--meat/sauce on a dinky-bun...5 for $1--a teenage piggy-boy's dream lunch...there was one on West Main in Norman back in the day...late 60's...
The Steve's Rib restaurant started out as the BBQ stand in the Homeland store Edmond Road & Santa Fe. He was an architect by trade and got into the restaurant business during the downturn in the early 80's, he used to come into Triangle A&E quite a bit getting print and supplies.

The Oklahoman archives doesn't show any match for Hagee's at that location (but several for Pratt's). Not familiar with that grocery store at all. As someone pointed out, Pratts doesn't ever show up with an IGA affiliation. The only archived results were Pratts ads where they mention that they beat IGA prices for the "last 6 weeks"


On edit: I couldn't find ANY match for Hagee's or Hagee, another way to spell it maybe??

On further edit, the Archives appear to be broken, did a search for Pratts and Casa Bonita and am now getting back Zero results (where multiple matches were found previously)Hagee's was an IGA and was the first store at that NW 39 and Portland location. Pratt's moved in after Hagee's closed.

I used to trade with Mr. Hagee himself, at the NE 36 and Kelley location (which burned down). He was a very good man. At the time I was doing freelance magazine writing and had no fixed regular income. He would let me stock up on groceries, pay with a hot check, and hold the check (not even attempting to deposit it, thus sparing me bank fees and embarrassment) until I could bring in an article payment and buy it back! His son Jerry was the founder of Arbuckle Wilderness south of Davis just off of I35. Jerry ran for the legislature one year, and among his campaign slogans was "I'm well qualified for the state house, having been a zookeeper for some years."

The parent company of the existing Casa Bonita location in Lakewood, Colorado filed bankruptcy last week. They also operate Hometown Buffet, not sure if that is still what the one at NW 63rd & NW Expressway is called.

Denver Business Journal - Casa Bonita parent files Chapter 11 bankruptcy (http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2011/10/04/casa-bonita-parent-files-chapter-11.html)

It's hard to believe that Casa Bonita (in "Denver", formerly of OKC) isn't renting semi-trailers to haul away the cash after all the free publicity provided on South Park.

Oh. Wait. Perhaps the head honchos at "Corporate" already did that . . .

The parent company of the existing Casa Bonita location in Lakewood, Colorado filed bankruptcy last week. They also operate Hometown Buffet, not sure if that is still what the one at NW 63rd & NW Expressway is called.

Denver Business Journal - Casa Bonita parent files Chapter 11 bankruptcy (http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2011/10/04/casa-bonita-parent-files-chapter-11.html)
Yes, it is still Hometown Buffet (was there today). May have missed it in the article, but they also own the Ryan's/Fire Mountain chains. They use the same pics and advertising/coupons etc for the Ryans & Hometown locally. How the Casas bonita ever fit into their corporate umbrella is unclear (other than the all-you-can-eat element of Casa Bonita), but it isn't really a buffet place.

The Hometown on Southside closed a few years ago now along with the Fire Mountain that was in front of Wal-Mart on Penn & Memorial. There is still a Ryan's (formerly Fire Mountain) there on I-40, on the access road west of the Wal-mart

Was at Ryan's I-40 MacArthur/Council location a couple of weeks ago. Poor crowd, poor food selection. Seems to be going downhill fast.
Yes, it is still Hometown Buffet (was there today). May have missed it in the article, but they also own the Ryan's/Fire Mountain chains. They use the same pics and advertising/coupons etc for the Ryans & Hometown locally. How the Casas bonita ever fit into their corporate umbrella is unclear (other than the all-you-can-eat element of Casa Bonita), but it isn't really a buffet place.

The Hometown on Southside closed a few years ago now along with the Fire Mountain that was in front of Wal-Mart on Penn & Memorial. There is still a Ryan's (formerly Fire Mountain) there on I-40, on the access road west of the Wal-mart

That does seem to be the way the Fire Mountain/Ryan's have been run (at least here in OKC). They opened to booming business (the I-40 one had to expand their parking lot) and then as the new wore off, they would start to cut back and business drops...more cutbacks...business drops...etc etc etc. So they changed the name on the place but nothing else (exact same food etc). Not sure what the story was with the souhside Hometown as it always seemed busy (or at least as busy as the northside one).

But to sort of get back to the thread topic, Tulsa's Casa Bonita suffered from the same mentality to a degree (promises of return to food quality etc) but failed to deliver and eventually closed a couple of times (Casa Bonita/Casa Viva/Casa Bonita). I keep hoping that they will reopen up there or better yet reopen here in OKC where Casa started in 1968. While the original location is currently vacant it is really to small for it (was the smallest one of the eventual chain). Would probably need to open in Bricktown to take advantage of the built in tourists.

I know that the Lakewood Casa Bonita was open in September when I was up there, weekend before least we drove by it early on Sunday morning before it opened so not sure if it still is. We weren't on that side of Denver this weekend staying in the Aurora area before heading back to OKC on Monday. Since I will be up there full time starting next weekend I may wander by during open hours and see if it is still operating.

Unless the parent company goes under I don't see the Denver one closing any time soon. Reportedly, one of the problems other Casa's ran into was their long-term leases ran out and the strip mall owners wanted too much of an increase to renew. A couple of years ago I had heard that the Denver location was approaching the end of their lease (which would have been a 35 yr lease) but it had been renewed. Don't know if it was the case or not and if it was another long-term lease or not. In any case the article about the bankruptcy indicated that the filing wouldn't effect store operations (including Casa). But if you can, talk to management and see if you can get any inside info.

I never went to one in OKC, but used to be devoted to the one in Tulsa back when it first opened. It was good food, and such a charming and lovely place, with so much variety of rooms. But the last time I went there, in about 2000 I think, it was really awful: smelly, shabby, with crummy food. The whole neighborhood has deteriorated of course, and that nice strip mall is just junk now.

captainhillkid: what you described was another common theme with all of the Casa Bonita locations I know of (OKC, Tulsa, Little Rock & even Denver)...all located in strip malls that had seen better days when they eventually closed. The OKC Casa was the highest grossing Mexican restaurant in the country at one point. Course this was before all of the fast food and Mexican places seemingly on every corner. There indeed were spans when the a lot of the food was pretty bad (remember when they changed the seasoning for all of the beef items and it tasted rancid). Fortunately they had introduced the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas and when prepared correctly, they were sinfully rich and delicious. One thing that never seemed to change in taste/quality was that fantastic sopapillias (although they did seem to get smaller as I got older...LOL). Light delicate puffed pillows of fried dough. tear off a corner and pour in the honey and rotate it around to coat it completely on the inside. SLURP!

There are some places that make some very good ones, but have yet to find ones that are Casa's equal.

I worked at the Casa on 39th back in the mid 80's and am looking for any pics from that era of the Banannas the monkey costume. I spent many a weekend night between 84 and 85 in that smelly old costume but cant find any images of it. I have been telling my wife and 14 yr old son about just how good the food was back in those days. Any pics would be cool.

bs2007: please post any pics that you can find. Also if you have ANYTHING (pics, menus, employee name tags/buttons etc that you might be interested in parting with please let me know here or send me a PM. Thanks in advance!

I am VERY interested in locating Casa Bonita calendars (have Oklahoman ads mentioning them) and a printed copy of the Legend of Casa Bonita. I remember seeing it back in the day and from what I remember was printed on the same type of brown craft/parchment type paper that the menus were printed and may have even been printed on the back. However, the various menus I have collected from Little Rock, Tulsa & Denver don't have it on them.

posts from another thread...

Casa Bonita was our favorite place to eat when my brother Jimmy and my sister-in-law Paula lived in Warr Acres not far from the restaurant. We loved 'raising the flag', especially my brother. The food was great.
Janey Reynolds Ring

South Park creators buy the name:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/08/13/south-park-casa-bonita-denver-oklahoma-city-denver/8125683002/

I vividly recall the Casa Bonita in Tulsa and how long the lines were to get inside. Of course, all you can eat for $4.95 should draw a crowd! Yum!

Matt and Trey of South Park fame just signed a $950mm+ contract for new seasons / movies. At the same time, they agreed to purchase Casa Bonita out of bankruptcy. They’ve apparently hired a solid chef to take over the food issues they previously had.

There have been so many, but probably my favorite South Park had Cartman absolutely having to go to Casa Bonita for Kyle's birthday party.

I went to the Casa Bonita in Tulsa a few times. It was cool.

Didn't Madonna sing a song about Casa Bonita?

Didn't Madonna sing a song about Casa Bonita?
Close. It was La Isla Bonita. Decent song.

The Steve's Rib restaurant started out as the BBQ stand in the Homeland store Edmond Road & Santa Fe. He was an architect by trade and got into the restaurant business during the downturn in the early 80's, he used to come into Triangle A&E quite a bit getting print and supplies.

Steve is still doing Architect stuff current projects under way. I worked at the Homeland during my high school years and ate from his stand all the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re5o2I1t5co

Casa Bonita eliminates tipping.

Popular restaurant eliminates tipping (https://okcfox.com/news/offbeat/popular-restaurant-eliminates-tipping-bucking-industry-standard-casa-bonita-mexican-food-denver-colorado-cliff-divers-sopapillas-dinner-show-service-industry#)

Casa was never a big tip maker to begin with. The premise of one person seats you, one person greets the party and then anyone on the floor can answer a flag being up on any table caused tipping to be iffy because so much staff would wait on one party. Also, tips were pooled and divided by the number of floor employees and the number of hours each employee worked, then added to our paychecks. As a credit to Casa they paid more than the tip based minimum wage so tips were actually a plus to a decent wage. yeah, exact same so it's just kind of psycho to begin with.