Koo Koo Roo Returns to L.A.

Baby boomers have fond food memories of the lunch counters at Thrifty drug stores, while local Gen Xers loved their Penguins Frozen Yogurt stores, and L.A. millennials really, really liked the chicken at Koo Koo Roo. At least one of them loved it so much he decided to bring it back from oblivion.

Daniel Farasat is a Fairfax-area real estate developer who grew up near the Koo Koo Roo outlet at Beverly Blvd. and Orlando Ave. The restaurant eventually became his favorite local hangout. “I used to go with my family when I was little,” the 41-year-old L.A. native remembers. “As I grew up, I walked there with friends in middle school and then after football practice in high school. I’d even stop for lunch during college.”

So, Farasat made a deal to purchase the original recipes, trademarks, logos, domains, and operating manuals of the chain, which closed its last store in 2014, for an undisclosed price. He sees himself as a steward and protector of the brand, determined to “bring back the mission and the vision of Koo Koo Roo.”

Ray and Mike Badlian opened their first restaurant in a newly completed Koreatown mini mall in 1988. They created a fresh kind of healthy fast food with skinless chicken and oil- and fat-free side dishes, including pinto beans and an eggplant salad. "No fat, no cholesterol, and all low-cal," Mike told the Los Angeles Times , which compared the flavor to a Middle Eastern El Pollo Loco. All this starting at $2.89.

The chain, which had grown to include locations in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Canada, went through a series of owners and was sold off by the Texas-based Luby’s Cafeterias in 2021. “I don’t think they understood what Koo Koo Roo represents to its fan base,” Farasat says. “I think I’m at the center of that. I’m a superfan myself.”

Farasat was an early investor in Sweetgreen and is teaming up with his brother Raphael, a creative director who has fashioned identities for food brands including Last Crumb and Sweet Nothings. The pair are working on a new design for the first restaurant, which they anticipate opening late next year.

A test run for the new reboot will debut at Chain Fest in October. That’s the high concept restaurant phenomenon founded by comic actor BJ Novak. Esteemed chefs and designers remix the cuisine and atmosphere of vintage KFC, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, into an upscale retro polyglot experience.

Farasat confesses a deep appreciation for L.A. history, having restored the art deco Dominguez-Wilshire Building (1930, Morgan, Walls, and Clements) in the Miracle Mile, and he enjoys spending time poring over the historic photos of the city in the USC and Los Angeles Public Library collections. He especially loves classic restaurants, calling out Musso and Frank , Philippe's and Langer’s Delicatessen among his favorites.

“Restaurants are an integral part of the fabric of a neighborhood,” Farasat says. “These days there aren't as many opportunities to get together as technology evolves. I was sad when Hamburger Hamlet closed and I was sad when Koo Koo Roo closed and I'm happy to bring it back. I found a huge validation with the great feedback we’ve received since the announcement. It’s a loved brand.”