Pasadena’s Cheesiest Restaurant Opens

Anthony Bourdain once wrote, “You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”

Well then call Pasadenan Tim Tabakian, owner of Melt It! Grilled Cheese Co., Casanova – because cheese is now his specialty.

Tabakian, who also owns three Mediterranean restaurants (including one next door to Melt It!), decided to open his cheesy shop in December after being persistently pestered by his daughters, Lar and Aleek.

“They love grilled cheese!  We always make different types of grilled cheeses at home, and I play around with it.  They were constantly hounding me, ‘Daddy!  You can do a restaurant with grilled cheese!’  A lot of the things were their ideas.  We have fun with it,” Tabakian says.

You might be thinking to yourself, how can someone create an entire restaurant dedicated to grilled cheeses?  The team, including head chef Scott May, have actually come up with fourteen regular offerings along with weekly rotating specials and some equally incredible sides.

I personally ordered the Brie Sandwich, which is simply brie and fig compote on a French baguette.  Other notable combinations are the Philly “Grilled Cheese” Steak sandwich with steak, caramelized onions, grilled bell peppers and provolone on a French roll; the Cheesiest Mac ‘N’ Cheese with (you guessed it) their homemade macaroni and cheese; and what seemed to be everyone’s favorite, a combo of jalapenos, cheddar, and cream cheese called, “The Lar.”

Thursday’s event marked their Grand Opening.  After a ribbon cutting with Tabakian, his wife Nayri, his sister  Elizabeth Boyadjian, and his team, they opened their doors to a hefty line.  Each guest got a Melt It! t-shirt, back pack, and a spin on their “freebie” wheel with prizes such as root beer floats, melt fries, or deep fried Oreos (the grand prize, in my opinion).

While the event was mainly to get the word out about his new venture, Tabakian also used it as a way to thank his fans.

“I really want to thank the community!  We’ve had an excellent response from the community,” he said.

Melt It! Grilled Cheese Co. is located at 105 N. Hill Ave, Suite #103, north of PCC and just below the point where Union Street starts at Hill.

The best things about this grilled cheese restaurant: it stays in the same spot and there’s no three hour line…at least, not yet.