The former Bobby Salazar's location at 2839 N. Blackstone Ave. is seen in this December 2024 Google Street View image. The restaurant caught fire in April 2024, and the feds now accuse Bobby Salazar of conspiring to commit the arson.

Fresno restaurant operator Robert “Bobby” Salazar, 63, has been arrested on federal arson charges, accused of hiring a member of the Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club to set fire to one of his restaurants, netting nearly $1 million in insurance claims.

The restaurant near Shields and Blackstone avenues that Salazar owned for more than 20 years was underperforming, alleges U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, leading Salazar and co-conspirators to set fire to the building.

Fire investigators determined the cause of the April 2, 2024 fire was arson, with partially burned gas cans located inside the restaurant and extensive fire damage to the interior, according to court documents.

 

Bobby Salazar owns and operates two Fresno restaurants, with several more franchised and leased. According to court documents, he also sells salsa in retail stores in nine Western states.

The location on Blackstone Avenue was leased to a franchisee, but Salazar ended the lease. The business stopped serving customers in late February 2024, court documents say.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms agents learned that the person who set the fire was the president of the local Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club. Salazar allegedly hired the motorcycle gang member to start the fire and then claimed to his insurance company that he had nothing to do with the arson. He was ultimately paid out at least $980,739 for his insurance claim.

 

Salazar has been previously accused of firebombing the cars of former employees, according to lawsuits filed in local court. Investigators in this arson case said they asked Salazar about those allegations, and he denied any involvement, according to court documents.

Salazar is expected to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday, Aug. 27, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe in Fresno at 2 p.m.

If convicted, Salazar faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for commercial arson, as well as 10 years in prison mandatorily consecutive for arson in furtherance of a felony.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fresno Fire Department, with assistance from the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert L. Veneman-Hughes and Brittany M. Gunter are prosecuting the case.