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Good news for fans of Zankou: Another location is opening in West Hollywood -- or what everyone likes to call West Hollywood but is still technically L.A.
The chain was founded in Beirut in 1962 by Armenian couple Vartkes and Markrid Iskenderian. The family's first location was built on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, with locations later opening in Anaheim, Glendale, Pasadena and Van Nuys. There are currently nine branches, none of which can expand beyond Southern California due to a tragic family feud.
Zankou's tangy, lemony garlic sauce, a recipe from Markid, is what has always distinguished the restaurant from their competition, and is what keeps celebrities like Larry David coming back for more. The sauce comes alongside shawerma, falafel, kebabs, and other Mediterranean fare, but Zankou perhaps best known for its chicken dinners, which Zagat called "the single best takeout dish in town."
The new chain on Sunset and Fairfax will open on July 9.