Boy Scout and Girl Scout activities, music lessons, weekend road trips, church socials. While his kids were enjoying all the fun, Robin Salzer was stuck behind a smoker every weekend. But that ends on Sunday, Aug. 18 when he closes Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ in Pasadena after 37 years.
“In the restaurant business you work every weekend and every holiday because that’s when you do the most volume,” he said. “And when your name is on the sign they expect to see you here.” He has twin boys about to turn 11 and a daughter who’s 9. “I’m 66 years old and these are quality years for them,” he said.
Salzer owns the building and he’s decided to become a landlord. Right now he’s in negotiations with a local family that wants to rent that spot and start a restaurant. “It will not be Robin’s, it will be a fusion of this and what he wants to do.” The catering operation will continue under Robin’s catering manager Camillo Di Masi. “He is 30 and has been working with me since he was 16. I wanted to give someone the opportunity to start a business while they’re young like I did. We do 200 events per year, so you’ll still see our trucks all over the valley.”
Robin’s will also be at events at the Rose Bowl and in Orange County, too, at the Hyatt Regency Jazz Festival in Newport Beach, the Doheny Blues Festival and the Tall Ships Festival in Dana Point.
Salzer started in the industry more than 40 years ago. “I was 23 when I bought my first restaurant — I was the youngest franchise owner of an IHOP in Milwaukee. Then I moved to California.” He built his brand around real deal barbecue with apple and oak wood smoked ribs, tri-tip, hot links, chicken and burgers, served with homey sides from onion rings to beans, slaw and creamed corn.
He’s also a give-back guy, providing hot meals to those in need each week. “Every Wednesday we serve 150-200 at the Jackie Robinson Community Center in Pasadena.”
And the community has supported him too. “It’s been a real love affair with Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, it’s extremely humbling,” he said. They even love the decor. There are no worries about what to do with all the neon signage. “It’s like a museum,” he said. “My fear was what am I gonna do with all this stuff? But people are calling in saying, ‘We used to sit in that corner by those three signs. Can we buy them as a keepsake?’”
For fans who want to get in for a last supper, be sure to arrive early because it has been packed now that regulars know it’s closing. It should be even more crowded this weekend. “Next Saturday we’ll have a blues band,” Salzer said. “We’re gonna go out the door rocking.”
Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ
Find it: 395 N. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena, 626-351-8885, robinsbbq.com.
Open: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. Note that Sunday, Aug. 18 is the restaurant’s last day.
Catering: Will continue under new owner Camillo Di Masi. To order, call 818-919-3442.
