Our Story

From our family to yours, Carousel is the premier Los Angeles area Middle Eastern restaurant providing guests with the complete culinary experience of enjoying traditional Lebanese cuisine. Everything that we serve comes from original family recipes passed down through generations.

Beirut, 1978: Husband and wife Krikor (KoKo) and Vartouhi (Rose) Tcholakian operate a small sandwich shop in the heart of Beirut when the Lebanese civil war erupts to its worst proportions in 1978. The Tcholakians have a young son, Mike, and decide to leave their war torn country behind for the future. And so the American Dream was born.

Hollywood, 1983: By the time the Tcholakians immigrated to the US, they began working various jobs to support themselves. Their humble beginnings included a coffee shop and making the Armenian sausage delicacy soujouk which they sold to local Armenian markets. In 1983, the family decided to take a leap of faith and use Vartouhi (Rose) Tcholakian’s cooking expertise to open up a home style restaurant bringing an authentic taste of Middle Eastern cuisine to their new home. A gradual success, Carousel Hollywood became a landmark and legend in the community. Mike Tcholakian heads off to college and later begins to work for the family business

Glendale, 1998: After operating Carousel in Hollywood, Mike Tcholakian opens up the larger Glendale location, bringing a taste of Middle Eastern hospitality every weekend with entertainment show nights.

Present day, Mike and his wife Rosalie Tcholakian are raising their family of two boys in the hustle and bustle of Glendale. They continue to work alongside the original founders daily, with Krikor in Hollywood and Vartouhi in Glendale. Carousel has become more of a lifestyle than a job. The family’s devotion to their restaurants is the culmination of blood, sweat, and tears that allowed them to share their culture and cuisine upon coming to America.

To learn more about us, check out the following articles by: LA times and LA Magazine