A Tulsa Icon Is Reborn: Welcome To 'The Caves'

New life is being breathed into a Tulsa icon. The once popular Casa Bonita has been revamped in to "The Caves," a restaurant and nightclub.

The Caves opening on Saturday was a wild success. Hundreds of people showed up, and the owners are thrilled with the hype.

Take a walk inside The Caves. What once was a kitschy - but beloved - Mexican restaurant is now a steakhouse and nightclub.

Owner Todd Montgomery says he needed a wow factor. The old Casa Bonita already came with all the bells and whistles; it just needed a little elbow grease.

He says they put close to a million dollars into cleaning, painting, updating, and upgrading. But kept the quirks.

"A lot of the characters we kept because everyone loves what is in here so we kept it," Montgomery said.

04/01/2012 Related Story: Huge Crowd Floods 'The Caves,' New Tulsa Club At Former Casa Bonita

The opening was a success. The parking lot was packed and the crowds spilled out onto the sidewalk. Montgomery says 600 people were in the club, and he estimates another 400-600 were outside.

"It was great. We were really shocked as to actually how many people came in," he said.

Tulsa Police were taken by surprise by the large turnout and came to the location to check it out. Montgomery says they also had security on hand but there weren't any problems.

But he does hope the buzz for "The Caves" continues.

The Caves is open Wednesday through Sunday and will feature DJ's and live music to entertain the restaurant and club goers.