Casa Julián in Tolosa was inaugurated in 1954 by Julián Rivas, a restless fruit seller who, after long discussions with a friend newly arrived from Argentina, decided to convert his fruit shop into a grill, thereby becoming one of the first grill masters of what is now a Basque tradition. Thus, he was a precursor to the current grills in Euskadi and, furthermore, Julián was the creator of the famous piquillo peppers of the Casa.

Thanks to his reflections on the mastery of fire and coals, he invented the inclined grill with rods that is still used today at Casa Julián in Tolosa, and which has been so many times imitated everywhere. After the retirement of Julián Rivas, the grill house passed into the hands of Matías Gorrotxategi, who positioned it as a world reference for meat grilling. His sons Mikel, Xabi, and Iñaki have continued his work, each of them leading the three locations.