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  • Dishing out while dining in

    DISHING OUT WHILE DINING IN

    Burbank Leader, CA
    Aug 31 2005

    Zankou, known for chicken but not decor, hopes to draw in more
    customers with a stylish new restaurant in Burbank.
    By Darleene Barrientos, The Leader

    BURBANK -- Zankou Chicken restaurants are famous for the tender,
    roasted chicken and tasty garlic spread they serve, but not so much
    for the nondescript, cafeteria-like decor.

    The Southern California chain, owned by the Iskenderian family of
    Glendale, is planning to break with its reputation for good food
    but bad ambience by opening a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with
    27,000 square feet in Burbank. The building will include the chain's
    first patio seating, and a dome will grace its southeast corner.

    The new restaurant is scheduled to be open by November or December
    and will be the beginning of the chain's move toward more attractive
    and welcoming eateries.

    "This is going to be the staple," said Dikran Iskenderian, a manager
    and co-owner of Zankou's six restaurants. "This is going to be,
    God willing, what all of Zankou's future stores will be based [upon]."

    Burbank's Zankou is being built from the ground up as part of a strip
    mall under construction along San Fernando Boulevard just west of
    Burbank Boulevard. The mall, which is being developed by Dell West
    Properties, will include a drive-through Starbucks, a Robeks Juice
    store, a Quizno's sandwich shop, a nail salon and spa, an IndyMac
    Bank branch and an Italian gelato shop, which will also be owned by
    the Iskenderian family.

    Seven tenants will occupy 13,000 square feet of the 50,000-square-foot
    lot, said Rafik Khatchaturian, the developer and owner of the
    property. The Khatchaturian and Iskenderian families have known each
    other for at least 20 years, but have not worked together until now.

    "I went to Italy and was inspired by the Italian architecture,"
    Khatchaturian said of his plans to build the project. "I wanted
    to create a high-end food court. I think we've been lucky in the
    implementation of the idea."

    Zankou's Burbank restaurant anchors the strip mall's north end. The
    eatery's owners will employ a variety of consultants to plan the
    restaurant's paint, lighting, tile and kitchen layout.

    "This location -- no one can say anything anymore about the decor,"
    Iskenderian said. "They can't say anymore, 'it's great food, but take
    it to go.'"

    About 60% to 70% of Zankou's customers take their food to go,
    he said. With its new Burbank restaurant, Iskenderian said he
    expected that number to drop to 50%. Iskenderian's grandfather,
    Vartkes Iskenderian, opened Zankou's first store in Beirut, Lebanon,
    in 1962. Iskenderian's father, Mardiros Iskenderian, immigrated to the
    United States and opened the first U.S. location in Hollywood in 1984.
    Subsequent stores opened in Glendale in 1984, in Van Nuys in 1992, in
    Anaheim in 1996, in Pasadena in 2000 and in West Los Angeles this year.

    If Zankou's Burbank restaurant opens as scheduled, it will be the
    first time the chain has opened two stores in one year, Iskenderian
    said. Future locations are being considered on Ventura Boulevard near
    Tarzana, in Beverly Hills and in eastern Santa Monica.

    The family might consider going public one day, but franchising the
    Zankou brand is an unlikely idea, Iskenderian said.

    "The food is handmade, and the recipes are from my family," Iskenderian
    said of Zankou, which is named after a river in Armenia. "We don't
    want the quality of the food to go down."
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