Bill Waugh, founder of Denver’s Casa Bonita Mexican restaurant and other eateries across the Southwest, died at age 79 on Tuesday.

Waugh, whose restaurants also include the Taco Bueno and Crystal’s Pizza chains, Casa Viva and Burger Street, passed away in hospice care in Dallas, according to an obituary published in the Dallas Morning News.

A spokesperson for the Sparkman-Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas confirmed his passing to The Denver Post on Thursday.

“He was both a businessman and an artist, and that artistic training translated into great attention to detail,” said Don Williams, former CEO of Trammell Crow Co. and a friend of Waugh’s, in a Dallas Morning News article.

“He was a genuine entrepreneur — but an entrepreneur with taste. … And he was a man of faith who sought to encourage other people.”

Waugh’s artistic background — he graduated from Abilene Christian University with a fine arts degree in 1959 — encouraged him to bring a visual and design flair to his restaurants.

That includes Casa Bonita, which was founded in Oklahoma City in 1968 and expanded to locations in Texas, Colorado and Arkansas.

The Colorado location of Casa Bonita, which last year celebrated its 40th anniversary, also gained fame in a 2003 episode of Comedy Central’s animated series “South Park.”

The episode echoed many Colorado kids’ experiences at the restaurant: watching cliff divers leap off a 30-foot indoor waterfall, puppet shows, costumed characters, roaming mariachi bands and endless sopapillas.

Waugh sold Casa Bonita, along with his Taco Bueno chain, to the British food company Unigate in 1981.

Waugh was noted for his charitable nature, having provided funds for major buildings and endowments at his alma mater and donating his time and money to causes that included orphanages, learning institutes, and feeding and clothing those in need.

Waugh was born Aug. 2, 1935, in Norman, Okla., and graduated from Colorado Springs High School in 1953.

He married Francis Vickrey in 1964 and is survived by Liwei Waugh, his wife of 11 years, two daughters, a son, a stepdaughter and 14 grandchildren, among others.

A memorial service will be held at Sparkman-Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas at 10 a.m. Saturday followed by a burial at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas.

John Wenzel: 303-954-1642, jwenzel@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnwenzel