Spicy food continues to become more and more popular thanks to internet culture. Shows like “Hot Ones” have popularized things that are hot for the sake of being hot, and restaurants make a name for themselves in serving up spicy dishes. For Bobby Salazar and his name sake restaurant chain, it seems like things got too spicy. He is accused of hiring a gang to burn down one of his restaurants.
Salazar has a number of restaurants in the Central California area, and his salas are sold in several states at shops like Walmart and Safeway. That doesn’t necessarily mean business is booming for him everywhere though as allegedly his location on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno was underperforming. So when it burned to the ground and Salazar collected $980,739 in insurance payouts, there were some natural suspicions raised.
Investigators now say that Salazar paid the leader of the Screamin’ Demons Motorcycle Club to set fire to the restaurant in 2024. Investigators found partially burned gas cans and interior damage that was consistent with arson patterns. Salazar is expected in court today, August 27th, to face the charges. The charges come with some heavy penalties. If found guilty, Salazar could face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison with an additional mandatory 10 years consecutive for the arson being conducted in furtherance of a felony. Presumably that being the insurance fraud.
Insurance fraud and restaurants seem to go hand bin hand. It’s a common plot in film and television as well as something that pops up in real life more frequently than you might think. Also, not the most original idea to hire a biker gang to do nefarious things. Way to leani into the stereotypes of those outlaw biker gangs, guys. Seems like the entire situation got a bit spicier than Salazar intended for himself.
