‘What fire?’ Fresno’s Bobby Salazar appears to poke fun at arson charges in video
Well-known Fresno restaurateur Bobby Salazar, who was accused of arson, appears to be making light recently of the federal charges he faces in U.S. District Court.
A TikTok video posted Tuesday by the Bobby Salazar’s Restaurant account shows Salazar in a skit in which he’s answering phones and receiving orders for takeout trays, which are a typical product the business sells.
He answers the phone in the video and asks, “What fire?” as if he misunderstood the caller. Then he goes on to say, “our tamales are fire, they taste fire,” using, of course, young people slang for food that tastes good.
The video comes as Salazar potentially faces decades in prison after federal investigators accused him of hiring the head of a Sanger-based motorcycle club to set fire to one of his eateries on Blackstone Ave south of Princeton Avenue on April 2, 2024.
Salazar did not return requests for comment from The Bee.
Salazar, 63, faces four mail fraud charges that each carry the potential of a 20-year sentence and arson to commit a felony that carries a sentence of 10 years. A five-year sentence would be the punishment for a conviction on arson, which he also faces. All the counts also carry $250,000 fines.
It’s not the first time Salazar used his trial to promote his restaurants and goods sold in stores. A TikTok video posted to the same account, @therealbobbysalazar, on Sept. 30 shows Salazar walking into court as someone asks him to comment about his case.
Salazar does not comment on his case in the video but rather promotes his trays and salsa before the video leans into social media memes, including a pair of digital sunglasses that fall from off screen onto his face as a clip from “The Next Episode” by Dr. Dre plays.
This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
