A 70s love story from Casa Bonita

Former cli diver reflects before restaurant reopening

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It was the 1970s: a time when “dinner and a show” could mean just about anything. And Casa Bonita on West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood was one of those just-about-anything places.

It could seat up to 1,100 patrons, entertaining them while they waited on their food.

e restaurant, expected to soon reopen following a major renovation by new owners and “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, doubled as a kind of circus back then.

Michael Romero of Denver remembers it all. He was a cli diver and performer at the restaurant from 1975 to 1981. He made $10 an hour — a pretty penny those days — and he was young, and got to do what he loved. Not only that, he found something greater: meeting Dawn, the love of his life, on the cli s he jumped o of.

“She was the rst girl they hired as a diver when they opened up,”

Romero said. “She was so beautiful. I thought she was out of my league when I rst met her, even though I was a bit of a stud myself. I saw her on the cli , and apparently she was looking for me, too.”

It was the day after Halloween, 1975. Romero had been a collegiate diver and gymnast at Memphis State University, and was invited to be an entertainer at Casa Bonita based on his reputation. Dawn was a standout diver and gymnast at Arvada West High School, where she coached the men’s diving team after graduating.

Casa Bonita was run by an entertainment manager formerly from the Ringling Bros. Circus, Romero explained, who was a trapeze ier and gymnast, at the time. Funny enough, the manager and Romero had connections in common, leading to his quick hiring.

But when Romero got hired, he said he was expected to do a bit more than diving and gymnastics. During his tenure, he’d have to make some costume changes, too.

“ e original entertainment manager, he and his wife were the typical circus family. ey lived in this big truck-mounted camper and they traveled with the circus,” Romero said. “We all had to learn how to juggle re clubs. ere was a gun

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Spring is in full swing, bringing many folks around Colorado out of the doldrums of winter with the promise of outdoor recreation.

For folks who aren’t fans of “traditional sports” — think baseball, basketball, football, soccer — there are plenty of unique, exciting alternatives throughout the Centennial State. From roller skating to parkour, there is no shortage of variety in Colorado’s recreation options.

Roller skating, roller hockey and roller derby

Roller sports are alive and well in Colorado. Folks have quite a few options for activities revolving around wheeled feet; from roller skating to roller hockey to roller derby, there is no shortage of options.

Roller skating lovers have a plethora of skate parks in the metro area and can get all of their gear — and some lessons — from the newlyopened Denver Skates Shop in Arvada. e store provides ttings and skating lessons for folks ranging from novices to experienced park skaters.

Brina Wyss, a sales associate and coach at Denver Skates Shop, said that roller sports experienced a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic that’s since died down, but has nonetheless roughly doubled the community’s size.

“I think there was a big surge in interest in wheels and skating during the pandemic, but it was a trend” Wyss said. “I people had a lot of spare time and were looking for something active to do. e community has de nitely grown at least twice as much during the pandemic.”

Wyss participates in roller derby, which is played at the professional and recreational level in Colorado. Wyss said the competitive nature and team atmosphere of roller derby came to be a replacement for volleyball, which she played competitively growing up.

“A lot of people do (skating) for joy and exercise,” Wyss said. “I do it as a way to escape, and it’s also a great way of community meeting.”

Denver Roller Derby operates a large number of recreational and traveling teams and has opportunities for new players.

Folks looking for a non-contact alternative to ice hockey might nd roller hockey appealing — Skate City operates rinks in Arvada, Westminster and Littleton that o er roller skating and hockey, while Rocky Mountain Roller Hockey operates youth and adult leagues out of the Foothills Fieldhouse in Lakewood, and the Parker Fieldhouse also hosts youth and adult roller hockey.

Ultimate frisbee/ disc golf

Frisbee sports have come into favor in Colorado recently — a semiprofessional ultimate frisbee team kicked o their inaugural season in Golden this month — with two main ways to play.

Ultimate frisbee resembles American football in that teams must complete passes in an end zone to score points. As the name suggests, disc golf resembles “traditional” golf, but is played with a disk instead of a ball. e Denver Summer Ultimate League is the oldest ultimate frisbee competition in the state, and just nished registration for its 2023 season.

Disc golf fans may nd more frequent playing options. In Arvada, the Johnny Roberts Disc Golf

Course and Birds Nest Disc Golf Course both operate at city parks.

Colorado Christian University operates a disc golf course in Lakewood, and Foothills Parks and Recreation operates the Fehringer Ranch Disc Golf Course in Morrison.

For those looking for a more secluded experience, the Wondervu Disc Golf Course in Golden is considered to be one of the most scenic — and challenging — courses around.

Parkour

According to gym owner Lorin Ball, the de nition of parkour is simple: “Using environment to get from point A to point B in the most e cient way possible.”

Ball is the owner of Flow Vault, a parkour and ninja warrior — yes, American Ninja Warrior — training gym in ornton. Flow Vault opened in 2008 and o ers classes to people ages 5 and up. His gym has even graduated some ninja warriors to the popular NBC show.

“It’s a full curriculum, similar to that of gymnastics, where you have di erent levels of progressions,” Ball said. “We’re training people to be more intentional with their movement and apply that to other sports or physical activities that they do.”

Other parkour gyms in the area include APEX Denver, Path Movement in Littleton and Ninja Intensity in Parker.

Aerial Adventures

Finally, Colorado has no shortage of arial adventure options. Ropes courses and adventure parks are plentiful in the Centennial State and are often and family-friendly way to recreate uniquely.

e Colorado Adventure Center is based in Idaho Springs, e EDGE Ziplines and Adventures is in Castle Rock, and the Treehouse Adventure Park is based in Bailey.

ght. I was a stuntman as well.” at meant he had to wear cowboy hats and all kinds of out ts. One act was Romero’s favorite. In a King Kong-ish reenactment, he’d don a gorilla suit. In the act, he would throw a woman o one of the cli s, into the water below, and then jump in after her.

“I’m the only man in the world that can say he got to dress up in a gorilla suit at Casa Bonita and throw his wife o a cli , and still be married to her 46 years later,” he said, laughing. e two married in 1977 and had their son, Zachary, in 1978.

Romero is now looking at the past — Casa Bonita’s reputation for good times, but bland, but “not horrible,” food — with a heavy heart. He’s excited about the reopening to see if the great parts of the restaurant are preserved and other parts are better than before, but it will be a bittersweet return. Dawn passed away a few weeks ago.

“It was such a storybook story. My wife was really just the sweetest thing. Absolutely stunning. Captured the whole room,” he said.

After her diving days, she became a third-grade teacher at Stedman Elementary School in Denver’s Park Hill for 35 years, where she a ected countless lives.

“She was so, so good at her job.

at’s probably the thing she’ll be remembered for the most. She’s so loved in the Park Hill community. She taught in the same classroom for 35 years,” he said.

He and his family will return when it opens and he’s anxious to see what it turns out to be, even though “everyone is worried it will become a ‘South Park’ amusement park,” or something.

Romero hopes for the best. He’s curious about claims the menu will improve, and hopes the entertainment talent gets paid what they’re worth, like he did during his time there.

e exact reopening date is still to be determined, though the restaurant has promoted a “Grand Reopening” in May.

He was excited to return with Dawn to the place that gave them the best gift of all: a lifetime of memories, a love story, and a family to carry it on.

“She always said it was love at rst sight. She went home and called her aunt or grandma and said she met the man she was going to marry, before we even went on a date,” Romero said. “We’ve always taken people there. We were de nitely going to be back. We feel like we’re part of the history there.”

When Romero goes to see the improved Casa Bonita, he’ll be thinking of Dawn.

“It’s really bittersweet right now because she really wanted to go,” Romero said.

Allie Westfall Conifer High School

I am president of Conifer high school’s green team, called Keep Conifer Green, as well as my National Honors Society for Dance Arts chapter at my dance studio. I am also working at Rocky Mountain Wraps in Conifer and as a dance teacher of aerial fabrics. Next year I will be attending UCLA for environmental science and hope to continue to be involved in sustainable living there.

What is the most enduring memory from your high school career?

One of my most enduring memories from being in high school was of one of my nal days in AP chemistry during my junior year. With my teacher, Mr. Bunnell, we tie-dyed shirts and made soap bubbles that could be lit on re. Mr. Bunnell, as well as many of my other teachers at Conifer, have created amazing memories to take with me onto the next chapter of my life and I don’t think I could have made it through high school without them.

Talk about your role in society going forward. What issues do feel drawn to address post-graduation and how do you plan to do that?

I have always been drawn towards the environment and feel that it is necessary for me, and my generation as a whole, to address the climate crisis and the vast a ects it will have on everyone. Going into environmental science, I hope to nd my niche in helping the planet whether that’s in renewable energy, reforestation, environmental policy, or any other helpful topic.

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

In 20 years I see myself working for a company helping to raise awareness of climate change as well as help society to transition to a carbonnegative way of living. No matter where I am living I want to in uence those around me to be better, more climate conscience people.