Fire burns vacant former Bobby Salazar’s restaurant in central Fresno

A vacant former Bobby Salazar’s restaurant in central Fresno burned again early Friday, putting a Blackstone Avenue property back at the center of safety, insurance and redevelopment questions in one of the city’s busiest commercial corridors.

Fire was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. at 2839 N. Blackstone Ave., near Blackstone and Michigan avenues. Fresno Fire said multiple 911 callers reported the building on fire, and Engine 5 arrived to find flames through the roof. Crews declared a working fire and spent the overnight hours knocking down the blaze from inside and around the structure.

Fresno Fire said firefighters also focused on keeping the damage from spreading to neighboring businesses. That mattered on a corridor lined with traffic, storefronts and apartments where even a vacant building can still threaten surrounding property, draw emergency crews and disrupt overnight activity.

The restaurant manager declined to comment on the fire, leaving open basic questions about what started the blaze and how badly the building was damaged. Investigators were still working to determine the cause Friday, and officials had not said whether the fire appeared accidental, suspicious or tied to any condition inside the structure.

The property has already drawn intense scrutiny. Local outlets have described Friday’s blaze as the second fire in two years at the same vacant Blackstone site. A previous fire broke out there on April 2, 2024, when investigators said they found multiple fires inside the building and no forced entry. Federal prosecutors later said that fire was intentionally set.

That earlier case carried major legal and financial stakes. Federal authorities alleged Bobby Salazar hired a member of a motorcycle club to set the 2024 fire in exchange for insurance money, and reporting said Salazar received about $980,000 in insurance payouts. The U.S. Department of Justice later said Fresno restaurant operator Robert “Bobby” Salazar, 63, was arrested on a federal complaint for arson of commercial property and arson in furtherance of a felony.

The Blackstone location had been rented to another tenant and was taken back over at the end of 2023 before the 2024 fire, adding to the uncertainty around the building’s condition and future use. For central Fresno, Friday’s blaze now raises the same hard questions again: whether the structure can be saved, whether it will require major repairs or demolition, and whether the site becomes a redevelopment setback or another lingering safety problem on Blackstone Avenue.