OC Business Journal

PLATINUM TRIANGLE:

Reimaging a longrunning concept at Roxy’z by Zov

Anaheim has been undergoing a culinary renaissance of sorts, with a handful of restaurants opening over the past several months.

One of those is Roxy’z by Zov’s, a reimagining of Zov’s well-known bistro. The restaurant initially opened in November 2014 as a traditional Zov’s, but closed March 2020 at the onset of COVID.

Now, the Platinum Triangle-area restaurant has reopened as Roxy’z by Zov’s, a new concept under the Zov’s umbrella.

“It was always a good Zov’s site, but we also saw the area was changing, the demographic was changing,” said Armen Karamardian, CEO of Zov’s Restaurant Group.

“There has been so much activity in Anaheim, between arenas and venues and the

Disneyland Resort. There was an energy here that we really wanted to recapture within our own restaurant. We saw the opportunity to reenergize our dining room and make it bar centric, with a menu driven by share plates, and food that makes you feel good, aimed at a younger diner. Everything we do—the music, environment, it’s not Zov’s.” And yet, it is.

“The menu is new American,” stated Karamardian. “There are Mediterranean influences in some dishes, but it’s a new American menu. When we were putting the menu together, and the concept, what we were trying to create here with the environment and the type of food, it’s an out of the box venture for us, it kept taking us back to my grandmother, Roxy. She was not a trained chef but the food she made always made you feel good. Everything my grandmother made, we would get excited about. We wanted to craft a menu that was of that inspiration. Everything made from scratch, in house, the freshest ingredients, maybe not the kind of food my grandmother would have done but made the same way my grandmother would have made it.”

Platinum Triangle’s Growth

Armen’s mother has done well for herself too. Zov Karamardian opened her first Zov’s restaurant in Tustin in 1987, serving her contemporary take on Mediterranean cuisine. Years later, she opened locations in Irvine and Newport Beach, followed by Anaheim.

Roxy’z by Zov’s is in the middle of Platinum Triangle, close to Angel Stadium and the Honda Center as well as thousands of new apartment units.

“It’s pretty cool, and there’s more coming,” said Armen. “It’s mixed-use urban living, and we want to be the local neighborhood dining and drinking establishment. We have a great happy hour, the beer is locally sourced. We made a point to have local beers. And our pizzas are wonderful.”

Armen noted that once Roxy’z by Zov’s is well established, it’s a concept that could work in other OC cities. ■

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2022-01-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

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