As customers lined up outside a car wash on Reseda Boulevard in Northridge, George Bedrosian and his team hurriedly set up chairs and tables. They expected another busy night.

But the business Bedrosian ran had nothing to do with window cleaning or tire waxing.

It was a Nashville-inspired hot chicken pop-up that sold spicy sandwiches with fries.

Rudy Alvarado, a public health student at CSUN, and his girlfriend Tiffany Blanco order hot chicken sandwich plates from street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Alvarado says out of four hot chicken vendors he keeps returning to the one that’s made their home at a carwash. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Charles Johnson spices hot chicken at street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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People pick up their orders from street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

People line up for street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

People pick up their orders from street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



Rudy Alvarado, a public health student at CSUN, and his girlfriend Tiffany Blanco order hot chicken sandwich plates from street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Alvarado says out of four hot chicken vendors he keeps returning to the one that’s made their home at a carwash. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

CSUN students and other youth line up before street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken opens at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Charles Johnson spices hot chicken at street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

People line up for street vendor Hawaiian Hot Chicken at a Northridge carwash along Reseda Boulevard on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. Social media and word of mouth have kept the lines long at what the owners call a pop-up. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A mother and daughter enjoy food tasting as they walk along State Street during Market Night in Redlands on Thursday, Sep 19, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



Hawaiian Hot Chicken pops up every night at 9240 Reseda Blvd., except Mondays, a few blocks away from Cal State Northridge, shortly after the car wash closes around 6 p.m.

The stand sells several options of fried chicken sprinkled with a mix of spices, from mild to Kilauea-style, named after the active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands.

Each piece of chicken is enveloped in two Hawaiian buns and topped with pickles, coleslaw and a signature sauce. A side of fries accompanies each plate.

“Sweet bun and salty spicy chicken is a really good combination,” Bedrosian said.

Co-founder Mike Mkrtchyan said he finds hot fried chicken “addictive.”

The idea to open a pop-up came after a group of foodies who grew up in the Valley fell in love with the spicy deep-fried chicken from Chinatown’s Howlin’ Ray’s, famous for its hot dishes and hours-long lines.

Mkrtchyan and a group of his friends decided to put a new spin on the popular deep-fried chicken by adding sweet buns.

In December, the group set up their deep-fryer in Northridge and began selling their own sandwiches.

“I used to go to downtown L.A. all the time to try their chicken,” Bedrosian said, who joined the business as a manager a few weeks after its opening. “But it’s a bit of a drive.”

An owner of the car wash is aware of the pop-up, Bedrosian said. But he declined to answer whether he leases the spot.

They were aware of L.A’s craze over the hot chicken. But they were bewildered when their pop-up became a hit.

Hawaiian Hot Chicken’s Instagram account lists 16,000 followers.

On weekend nights, the line goes around the block with more than a hundred people. The stand remains open until midnight or until the sandwiches are sold out.

Bedrosian said one of the reasons the stand is popular is because they were filling a niche in the neighborhood where not many restaurants are open around midnight.

The plates at Hawaiian Hot Chicken are not cheap. The most popular Hawaiian plate costs $12. Other sandwiches average from $9 to $11.

The stream of customers are eager to pony up at that price — many of them are CSUN students.

The stand appeared on the map in December, about a month after the Los Angeles City Council approved regulations to legalize selling food on sidewalks.

David Lasher, a Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council board member, said he was concerned about the impact street vendors could have on restaurants and shops that operated nearby.

“The city rigorously pursues brick-and-mortar businesses when it comes to business licensing and the collection of business taxes and sales taxes,” Lasher said, adding that he was concerned the city inspectors didn’t apply similar rules to food vendors.

Still, Mkrtchyan said his team was doing “above and beyond” to accommodate their neighbors and make sure they “don’t cause any inconveniences.”

On a recent Wednesday night, customers patiently waited outside the car wash. Some joined the line with friends, dogs and baby strollers as hip-hop’s songs blasted from a set of speakers. A long banner with the pop-up’s name hung on a fence near a sign that advertised a hand car wash for $14.99.

Paola Gutierrez, a 20-year-old SCUN student, said she learned about the spot after seeing long lines on Reseda Boulevard.

“I thought we have to come back and try it,” she said, adding that it didn’t bother her purchasing food out of a car wash. “It’s like buying street tacos.”