The music video for Childish Gambino's song 'Sober' from his EP Kauai was filmed in the original Hollywood location.The restaurant was mentioned by Beck (rhyming 'Zankou chicken' with 'ripe for the pickin'') in his song ' Debra', from the album Midnite Vultures.In 2013, Zankou Chicken was one of the contributors for Green Armenia, which brings attention to environmental problems faced by the people of Armenia. Iskenderian, Mardiros Iskenderian's widow Rita unsuccessfully sought to attain sole control of the Zankou Chicken trademark. In the California Court of Appeal case Iskenderian v. The repercussions of this event, and the lasting division of the brand into two family factions, impeded the continuing growth of the business despite the restaurants' popularity. Iskenderian was in the late stages of colon and brain cancer, which is believed to have had an effect on his mental faculties. On January 14, 2003, after a heated argument, Zankou Chicken owner Mardiros Iskenderian shot and killed his sister, Dzovig Marjik, and his mother Margarit Iskenderian he then killed himself in a double-murder suicide. (The original location and Montebello locations are not listed on the website Rita Iskenderian owns the website and doesn't include them.) Since opening, Zankou Chicken has expanded and includes the following locations in the greater Los Angeles area: East Hollywood, Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Toluca Lake, Van Nuys, Montebello, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, and Santa Clarita. The new restaurants would be owned by Mardiros, while the original Sunset and Normandie store would be owned by his parents and two sisters.

In 1991, the family agreed to divide the business when Mardiros wanted to open additional restaurants. The restaurant is especially known for its thick, paste-like garlic sauce, created by Vartkes' wife, Markrid and widely imitated. The first restaurant in Los Angeles opened in an East Hollywood neighborhood called Little Armenia and is located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Normandie Avenue. This included Armenian and Lebanese compatriots who fled Lebanon during the civil war. After considering opening a dry cleaning business or selling men's suits, Iskenderian recognized a lack of restaurants catering to the growing Middle Eastern immigrant population in Los Angeles. The chain was established within the United States in 1983 by his son, Mardiros Iskenderian, after the family immigrated to Los Angeles, California.

The first Zankou Chicken opened in 1962 in the Bourj Hammoud neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon, by Armenian Vartkes Iskenderian and his family. The restaurants are especially known for their spit-roasted chicken, shawarma, falafel, tahini, and a 'secret' garlic sauce. Zankou Chicken is a small, family-owned chain of Armenian and Mediterranean fast casual restaurants located in the Los Angeles area.

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