December 12, 2016

Try a Combination Plate in Glendale at Mini Kabob

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Glendale’s Mini Kabob.

I imagine many of your best customers don’t even know the story behind Mini Kabob – can you share some of that story with us?
This a story for my father. He took over Mini Kabob over 19 years ago in April. He revamped the restaurant, put in new equipment and fixed the whole thing up. Before he did that, he was a chef in the Armenian army. After traveling all over Siberia, Russia, he headed to America with the family. He jumped restaurant from restaurant until he decided that he’d do his own. Mini Kabob isn’t the biggest place at only 225sq ft… but this place has soul, emotion, and a lot of character.

The business is now run by my father, Ovakim Martirosyan, my mother, Alvard Martirosyan, and myself, Armen Martirosyan.

The ingredients are all my fathers recipes, however, such menu items like the hummus, and falafel are my late grandmother recipes from Egypt. Even though, we are Armenian our family has ties with the Egyptian culture because of the Armenian Genocide. My nene short for great grand mother fled to Egypt with her younger sister to avoid being slaughtered by the Turks.

My grandma was born there and a lot of the passion, and influence in our cuisine is direct from what our family has passed down from generation to generation.

As a family we are all trained chefs. We try to execute and perfect the art form of making kabob day in an day out to ultimately satisfy our consumers, who are also our friends, who are now… family.

We are old school in visuals, but pioneers in flavor my mother would like to say in Armenian. My dad would add, I don’t need a big restaurant to flatter my ego… My humility is my restaurant and I love what I do. I am happy with the food I serve to the people that walk through those doors everyday.

We are from different generations, but one thing that resonates in all 3 of us is our love of food and love for cooking.

Every story has its ups and downs – what are some of the difficulties you’ve had to deal with over time?
It’s never been easy for our family. We were basically destitute when we arrived to America. My dad, a very talented chef/cook had to sell clothes in DTLA to make ends meet for us to survive. He worked two jobs as my mom baked from our house to also make some extra cash. Growing up was hard for my parents because they were always working and looking out for my brother and me.

We are still working to better ourselves, we have been able to introduce our food to a lot of different people from different walks of the earth.

We are constantly trying to stay relevant since our restaurant is tucked away off a residential street with new up and coming corporate restaurants. We work hard to improve our flavors and constantly satisfy our customers.

The best part about independent spots, in our view, is that they are able to think outside of the box and experiment with new ideas, take risks, cater to niches, etc. How does that apply to you guys?
Our restaurant isn’t unique in decor, ambiance, or quirks…. However, our restaurant is like our home. It’s open, when you’re eating here, you’re eating with family. You can see the food we prepare with a slight peek over the counter. Our off the menu Kabob burrito is a hit and is only sold on Sundays. Our homemade fries are by far the best I’ve had because of how it’s prepared.

Most Popular Items

Combination Plate
Ground Chicken Lule, Chicken Thigh, Pork Tenderloin with fresh Basmati rice, hummus, jalapeno, tomato, and lavash.
Falafel Plate
3 chickpea patties, with homemade crazy salad, and hummus.
Dietary: Vegetarian Vegan
Chicken Thigh
5 pieces chicken thigh with fresh Basmati rice, hummus, jalapeno, tomato, garlic cream, and lavash

Parking Advice: Parking is available on the street. Most convenient would be directly in front of the store with the orange cone.

Average Entree Cost: Entrees range from $12-22

Address: 313 1/2 W Vine St

Phone: 818.244.1343

Website: Mini-Kabob.com

Social Media links