Comfort food fuels sales at Bobby Salazar's restaurants

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Piping hot bowls of cocido, a beef soup, and pozole, pork and hominy, are served up every day at Bobby Salazar's restaurants.

"I see more and more of that coming on. People are taking it. They don't even have to make it hot. They're taking it home and warming it up it," said Bobby Salazar.

President Bobby Salazar said takeout orders are helping the six eateries located throughout the Fresno-Clovis area get by.

"It's been rough through this period, As soon as we got down by the governor. It's trying, and we're just trying to figure out how to handle this," Salazar said.

The restaurants have seen a lot of interest in comfort foods, from their popular fancy burrito to their short rib dinner.

People are getting party trays to enjoy at home. Each sale helps the business.

Salazar said he's taken steps through each stay home order to keep dining operations going.

"Now we can't even serve outside, so we've got money put out, and it's tough for us," Salazar said.

Salazar's salsa is being sold at US grocery stores and that's helping his company. He's even thinking outside of the box and catering more.

"We're just trying to keep the rents paid and people working. We've got bills. I've got bills every day, the same bills every month. We're just scratching out there and calling people, cold calling companies that are working: hospitals, people we do business with, 'hey can we get that extra order this week or month,'" Salazar said.

It's extra orders that's keeping his 40 employees working. Before the pandemic, he had about 200 people on the payroll.

After nearly three decades in business, he's determined to keep going and serving up the traditional dishes his family has done for years.