Koo Koo Roo

Koo Koo Roo
Company type	Independent
Industry	Restaurants
Founded	1988; 36 years ago in Los Angeles, California
Founders	Mike and Ray Badalian
Defunct	2014; 10 years ago
Fate	Closed by parent
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, US; Houston, Texas, U.S.;
Area served	California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Bayside New York
Parent	Magic Brands (2003–2010); Luby's (2010–2014); Independent (2021-present);
Website	Last archived of official website (2014)

Koo Koo Roo was an American fast casual restaurant chain specializing in charbroiled chicken founded in 1988 by Los Angeles-based restaurateurs Mike and Ray Badalian. The name "Koo Koo Roo" was an onomatopoeic reference to the crow of a rooster.^[1] After a series of expansions and ownership changes, in which Koo Koo Roo struggled for profitability throughout the 1990s, the last location in Santa Monica, California, closed in 2014.

In 2021, Luby's Restaurants, Inc. sold the Koo Koo Roo brand to an independent third party, owned and controlled by Daniel Farasat.^[2]

^ Horovitz, Bruce (1992-02-02). "In a Recession, Will New Fast-Food Chicken Chain Get Skinned Alive? : Franchises: Koo Koo Roo has plans to expand aggressively. But some experts say the timing couldn't be worse". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
^ Ruggless, Ron (2021-04-27). "Luby's continues to wind down cafeteria, Fuddruckers operations". Nation's Restaurant News. ISSN 0028-0518. Archived from the original on 2022-06-05. Retrieved 2022-06-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[LATimes-1] Horovitz, Bruce (1992-02-02). "In a Recession, Will New Fast-Food Chicken Chain Get Skinned Alive? : Franchises: Koo Koo Roo has plans to expand aggressively. But some experts say the timing couldn't be worse". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2022-06-05.

[nrn-2] Ruggless, Ron (2021-04-27). "Luby's continues to wind down cafeteria, Fuddruckers operations". Nation's Restaurant News. ISSN 0028-0518. Archived from the original on 2022-06-05. Retrieved 2022-06-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[1]

[2]