SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - From a small chicken stand, Charlie Boghosian built an annual tradition.
Every year, San Diegans and tourists visit the Del Mar Fairgrounds to see what Boghosian has delivered. Is it fried [insert food here]? Almost guaranteed.
"Chicken" Charlie started working at the Del Mar Fairgrounds when he was 14-years-old. But his love for cooking began far sooner.
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"I learned how to cook at a really young age from my mom," Boghosian began. "By the time I was 9- 10 I learned how to fry a few things. The first thing I learned how to fry was an eggplant."
Even then, Boghosian didn't think he was destined for life delivering summertime smiles at the fair. He says all he ever wanted was to be a San Diego Police officer. He went to college to get a degree in criminal justice and was ready to join the ranks.
That is until he was approached with a unique proposition in the form of a chicken stand.
"I ended up buying the chicken trailer and changing the name from 'Broasted Chicken' to 'Chicken Charlie's'," Boghosian recalls. "Since then, I have had a blast doing that...There's nothing like it."
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His passion for cooking and a fried-food cult following eventually led to opening Chicken Charlie's Frybq in Clairemont and the soon-to-be-open Chicken Charlie's Table in Rancho Bernardo, which he plans to open in October.
The restaurants carry Boghosian's love of cooking; with sandwiches, chicken, entrees, and a couple of fried foods; but less of the novelty acts he's become famous for at the San Diego County Fair.
"The menu is really a solid restaurant menu where you can come and eat regularly, not once a year like the fair," Boghosian said. "There's a lot of stuff that we do not sell that you can only get at the fair, like our cotton candy ice cream sandwich.
"I don't think we can legitimately sell that here."
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But don't worry. Behind the scenes, Boghosian is constantly crafting his next fair mashup.
"The day after the San Diego fair opens, I will start working on next year full blast, and I'm hoping to have some killer items," Boghosian.
Boghosian didn't elaborate on his plans for 2019 as of yet but dropped one item he's experimenting with.
"Chicken skin rolled tacos."
