After being endorsed by Oprah, Seattle restaurant founded in 1984 thrives and expands to its 18th location

Ezell’s Famous Chicken is a Seattle, WA-based restaurant chain co-founded by Lewis Rudd in 1984. The company grew to become one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite locations. 

In 1989, the restaurant received Winfrey on two occasions, and she was impressed with their menu, which featured Louisiana-style fried chicken made fresh daily in pure vegetable oil, baked rolls, barbecue beans, and mac and cheese. The media mogul would go on to hire Ezell’s Famous Chicken for her 36th birthday celebration in Chicago, IL, according to Vice.

“She was doing a production at King 5,” Rudd said of Winfrey’s first visit to his chicken spot, “and she asked someone where she could get some good food, and specifically some good fried chicken. They said Ezell’s, of course.”

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According to the restaurant, Winfrey’s approval of its menu led to a meteoric rise in orders. “We had people literally driving from Longview, Washington, to get chicken,” Rudd said, according to Oregon Live. “We couldn’t keep up with the demand.”

Since then, other big names have visited the restaurant to support the business, including Danny Glover, Quincy Jones, Rev. Jesse Jackson, George Wendt, and George Foreman, according to The Business Journal.

Today, the company is scaling up its operations from the Seattle area to Spokane, WA, and parts of Oregon. On Tuesday it started preparing to launch at 12559 116th Ave. NE at the Totem Lake West shopping mall. The expansion is the 18th restaurant for the family-owned chain.

“Attention Ezell’s fans, far and wide,” the company said on Instagram ahead of the opening of its 18th location. “Our brand new Ezell’s Famous Chicken in Kirkland will officially open its doors this Tuesday, August 6th at 10:30am! Grab your squad, bring your appetite, and get ready to celebrate with us.”

Rudd opened the first Ezell’s Famous Chicken with high school friend Ezell Stephens and sister Faye Rudd in Seattle’s Central District. They modeled the restaurant after a Louisiana-style fried chicken joint they had worked at while growing up in East Texas.