KOO KOO ROO SEEKS MORE WARNER CENTER BUSINESS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - Within the next six months, Warner Center workers will be chowing down on Koo Koo Roo.

The chain's signature winking chicken has taken up residence in a strip mall near the corner of Canoga Avenue and Oxnard Street. Rob Carl, vice president of media relations for Prandium, the restaurant's Los Angeles corporate parent, confirmed that the store would open by August. A definite opening date has yet to be announced, however.

``It's kind of a weird thing,'' he said. ``We hang banners in the local markets, but we don't talk about new openings until we get a firm opening date.''

This cautious strategy is designed to avoid missing opening deadlines. ``That way we don't have any disappointment if there are any delays in construction or other setbacks,'' Carl said.

Koo Koo Roo currently operates 38 locations in California, as well as two in Nevada and four in Florida. Its San Fernando Valley-area locations include Burbank, Encino and Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga, less than two miles from the new location.

Analysts differ on whether the near proximity of the two shops would oversaturate the market.

``Warner Center has a major daytime population,'' said Randall Hiatt, president of Fessel International, a restaurant consulting firm. ``That same population may be inclined to pick up Koo Koo Roo on the way home, too.''

Richard Martin, managing editor of the Nation's Restaurant News, speculated that Koo Koo Roo's expansion into its own back yard could be a calculated move to edge out its competitors, mainly KFC and Boston Market.

``They'd rather coexist with themselves than do combat with someone else,'' he said. ``The more ever-present you are, the more patronage you'll generate.''

Still, there are dangers to casting one's nets so close to one another.

``You have to worry about cannibalization, though,'' Martin said. ``You don't want to eat your own profits.''

Hiatt agreed, saying the close proximity could pose problems for the two locations.

``That's very close for a restaurant of their type,'' he said. ``With a Starbucks, you can put one on every corner. You can't necessarily do that with a Koo Koo Roo.''

For workers like Mary Douglas, however, the new location would work out perfectly. With a shop closer to her job on Ventura Boulevard, she'd spend less time driving on her lunch hour.

``That would definitely be better for me,'' she said, looking up from a book after polishing off a meal at the Topanga location. ``I'd have more time to relax and enjoy my break.''

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Photo:

(color) A future Koo Koo Roo takes shape on Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills, less than two miles from an existing location.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer