Massis Kabob is set to open its 8th location inside Hollywood Burbank Airport’s new $1.3 billion terminal. The family-run company said the location is believed to be the first Armenian-owned restaurant in a U.S. airport.
The terminal opened to travelers on Tuesday, October 13, with the first flight departing at 7 a.m. The opening comes as Massis Kabob, “The Original Kabobery,” marks its 50th year in business.
The late Hacop “Jack” Baghdassarian started the company in 1976 as a single stand in the Glendale Galleria food court. The family said his goal was to bring authentic Armenian cuisine into the heart of Southern California. “Dad wanted to have something that was Armenian in this brand-new shiny mall,” his son Peter Baghdassarian said in a 2024 interview with KTLA.
Baghdassarian, an immigrant with an 8th-grade education, spent years working 7 days a week to build the business. “He worked his tail off,” his son Gevik Baghdassarian said. “He was the first one in and the last one out and made sure he was always there.”
Baghdassarian passed away in 2017 at age 69. He is remembered as a family man and a philanthropist who donated to local schools, scholarships and community organizations.
The family still owns and operates Massis Kabob, which brothers Peter and Gevik Baghdassarian now run as they carry forward their father’s legacy. On Saturday, September 3, 2022, they opened the company’s first standalone restaurant, at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Glendale Avenue in Glendale.
In 2024, KTLA described Massis Kabob as “a household name with seven locations in the Southland.” The family said the Burbank location places Massis Kabob among the first to represent the Armenian community in one of the region’s most prominent new gateways. The airport serves more than 6.2 million passengers a year.
Food service in the new terminal is run by Burbank-headquartered Metropolitan Culinary Services, which has provided food and beverage service at the airport since 1992. It won the new contract after the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority voted 7-1 in its favor. Company President Steve Mora said its “local-first approach, offering the best of restaurants from Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena” helped win the deal.
Massis Kabob joins Jones Coffee Roasters, Poquito Mas, West Coast Customs’ SmashBurger, Perry’s Joint and Flavortown by Guy Fieri among the terminal’s announced vendors. The building has more than a dozen dining options.
Glendale is one of the airport’s 3 owner cities through the Airport Authority. Burbank voters approved the terminal through Measure B in 2016 with 70 percent of the vote.
The 355,000-square-foot building keeps the airport’s 14 gates and replaces a terminal complex whose original facilities opened in 1930.
