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-any-

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thing 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