It’s January 14th, 2003, and 56-year-old Mardiros Iskenderian, the founder of the family-owned chain of rotisserie restaurants Zankou Chicken, is leaving the house for the first time in months.

Twenty years ago, the Iskenderians transplanted their business from war-torn Beirut to sunny Los Angeles, where it blossomed into a California institution. But today, Mardiros is battling cancer—and losing. He kisses his wife Rita and heads for the door. It’ll be the last time she’ll see him alive.

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