In a special holiday message from Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Dana “Loca” Rodriguez, the grand reopening date for Casa Bonita is revealed. Happy holidays!
According to a Thursday announcement, the famous eatertainment venue in Lakewood will reopen in May for the first time since 2020, when it closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Guys, I saw a thing in the news about what Coloradans want for Christmas, and besides a new football team and fresh snow, they said they wanted an opening date for Casa Bonita,” said Trey Parker, co-creator of “South Park” and co-owner of Casa Bonita, in a video announcement. “So guess what?!”
It’s been a long time coming, too. The venue closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and the “South Park” creators purchased it in September 2021.
The original plan was to reopen by late 2022, but this summer, Stone and Parker said they couldn’t confirm an opening date due to unforeseen challenges with the building’s renovation. In June, for example, Casa Bonita’s iconic fountain was razed amid concerns about its crumbling foundation. According to city permitting documents and construction plans, the renovations are expected to cost about $12 million.
“Have you ever seen ‘Kitchen Nightmares’? It’s the very, very worst one of those you could possibly ever imagine,” Parker told The Post in August. “What we thought would be, ‘Oh this will be cool. We can buy this and open it and it’ll be around again,’ turned into ‘Oh this is going to be what we have to put all our money into and hope that it works.’”
In another news, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson on Wednesday revealed disturbing details of the case in a press conference that led to the arrest of Michael Barajas, 36, on Dec. 8. Swanson said Barajas had filed his teeth down to points and threatened to bite the victim and rip her throat out during the course of her three-week imprisonment.
The victim accepted, not knowing that she would be repeatedly raped and trafficked for the following three weeks.
Once the pair arrived to a dilapidated home, Barajas allegedly locked her inside a room and tied her to a bed. Genesee officials said they found rope at the scene. The victims’ room had an exterior deadbolt and all the windows in the hone were screwed shut.
Barajas repeatedly sexually assaulted the pregnant woman, and had other people come over to sexually assault and traffic her, police said.
“This guy used the opportunity to not only sexually assault but have people come over and traffic her as she was tied forcibly to the bed while they assaulted her,” Swanson said.
Swanson said the woman attempted to escape the dead-bolted room three times.
The first time she ran out of an open door during an exchange, but Barajas and the other suspects chased her down, firing shots at her and dragging her back to the bedroom.
A second attempted escape also led to her recapture. On Dec. 8, the victim suffered a medical emergency related to her pregnancy and was seen by nurses who recognized that the woman was in serious need of help.
The woman reported she had been held in a home since Thanksgiving, when Barajas spotted her walking days after she had been kicked out of another residence, the sheriff said.
Barajas offered her food and shelter, which the woman accepted, and drove to a house. But as soon as they entered, he allegedly locked her inside a room and tied the woman to a bed, Swanson said.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton authorized charges. Barajas was arraigned this week in 67th District Court in Flint on seven felony counts, including kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, human trafficking and assault with a dangerous weapon, records show.
Bond was set at $35,000 on each charge, according to the court filing.
Barajas remained jailed Wednesday and the case remained under investigation, Swanson said.
Anyone with information on Barajas’ associates is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (810) 257-3422.
Barajas was arrested and charged with seven felonies, including kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
His cash bond was set at $250,000.
Police continue to investigate. They are also searching for the men who raped the woman, Swanson said.
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