Ezell's Famous Chicken — Lynnwood

Ezell's Famous Chicken is one of the Seattle area's most beloved and enduring food institutions, and its Lynnwood location at 3925 196th Street SW brings that four-decade legacy of fried chicken to Snohomish County. Founded in 1984 by Ezell Stephens, Lewis Rudd, and family who relocated to Seattle from East Texas, the first Ezell's opened across the street from Garfield High School after the founders spent six years overcoming redlining and financial hurdles to make their dream real. What started as a single storefront grew into a homegrown chain built on a simple promise: a difference you can taste. The recipe is what made the name. Every order of chicken is hand-breaded and cooked fresh, available in the signature Original or Spicy styles that regulars swear by. Beyond the classic bone-in pieces, the Lynnwood kitchen turns out crispy tenders, Southern-style sides, and made-from-scratch desserts, all rooted in the same recipe that put Ezell's on the map. It is comfort food done with consistency, the kind of meal that has kept generations of Pacific Northwest families coming back. That map got a lot bigger in 1989, when Oprah Winfrey publicly declared Ezell's her favorite fried chicken on national television and later had it catered to her Chicago birthday celebration. The endorsement turned a neighborhood favorite into a regional legend, and the reputation has only deepened in the decades since. In 2024 the company celebrated its 40th anniversary, a milestone few independent, community-rooted restaurants ever reach. Ezell's has always been more than a restaurant. As co-founder Lewis Rudd put it, just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to raise a business, and that spirit of giving back runs through everything the company does. The Lynnwood location carries that ethos forward, offering a wheelchair accessible entrance and welcoming service for the diverse neighborhoods it serves near Seattle. Whether you are stopping in for a quick lunch, feeding the whole family, or introducing someone to the fried chicken so many locals grew up on, Ezell's Famous Chicken in Lynnwood delivers a genuine taste of Seattle history. Open seven days a week, it remains proof that great food and deep community roots can stand the test of time.