Ezell’s Famous Chicken is a decades-old Seattle institution.

It’s also family run.

But its next chapter might look a little different – nationwide expansion steered from outside of the family.

We’ll talk about it with owner Lewis Rudd and reporter Egan Ward in a minute.

Read Egan's reporting here.

We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.

Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.

Ezell&rsquo;s Famous Chicken is a decades-old Seattle institution.
It&rsquo;s also family run.
But its next chapter might look a little different &ndash; nationwide expansion steered from outside of the family.
We&rsquo;ll talk about it with owner Lewis Rudd and reporter Egan Ward in a minute.
Read Egan's reporting <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2026/04/27/ezells-famous-chicken-lewis-rudd-ceo-retire.html">here</a>.
We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenow">Tap here</a> to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.
Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:seattlenow@kuow.org">seattlenow@kuow.org</a>, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or<a href="https://www.kuow.org/feedback"> leave us feedback online</a>.

Seattle Now is KUOW's flagship daily news podcast. Seattle Now brings you quick headlines, smart analysis, and award-winning local news. New episodes every weekday morning and afternoon. Start and end your day with Seattle Now, from KUOW and the NPR Network.

Seattle Now is KUOW's flagship daily news podcast. Seattle Now brings you quick headlines, smart analysis, and award-winning local news. New episodes every weekday morning and afternoon. Start and end your day with Seattle Now, from KUOW and the NPR Network.

Seattle Now

Ezell’s Famous Chicken is a decades-old Seattle institution.  It’s also family run.  But its next chapter might look a little different – nationwide expansion steered from outside of the family.  We’ll talk about it with owner Lewis Rudd and reporter Egan Ward in a minute.

The future of Ezell's Famous Chicken may be outside the family that built it

This week…

Seattle hotels say bookings ahead of the FIFA World Cup are underwhelming.

Good Morning America showed off our region's beauty by broadcasting from a ferry.

And the Seattle Stair Walkers are finding community while doing an activity a lot of people hate. 

Arts reporter Jas Keimig and Factal Editor Joe Veyera are here to break down the week.

We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.

Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.

This week&hellip;
Seattle hotels say bookings ahead of the FIFA World Cup are underwhelming.
Good Morning America showed off our region's beauty by broadcasting from a ferry.
And the Seattle Stair Walkers are finding community while doing an activity a lot of people hate.&nbsp;
Arts reporter Jas Keimig and Factal Editor Joe Veyera are here to break down the week.
We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenow">Tap here</a> to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.
Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:seattlenow@kuow.org">seattlenow@kuow.org</a>, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or<a href="https://www.kuow.org/feedback"> leave us feedback online</a>.

This week…  Seattle hotels say bookings ahead of the FIFA World Cup are underwhelming.  Good Morning America showed off our region's beauty by broadcasting from a ferry.  And the Seattle Stair Walkers are finding community while doing an activity a lot of people hate.   Arts reporter Jas Keimig and Factal Editor Joe Veyera are here to break down the week.

Casual Friday with Jas Keimig and Joe Veyera

SPS superintendent says district could be insolvent as soon as next year, sexual abuse investigations mishandled at Tacoma ICE lockup, UW report finds, and World Cup hotel bookings are falling short of expectations.

It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning.

The interview in today's episode was produced by John O'Brien.

We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.

Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.

SPS superintendent says district could be insolvent as soon as next year, sexual abuse investigations mishandled at Tacoma ICE lockup, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/sexual-abuse-investigations-mishandled-at-tacoma-ice-lockup-uw-report-finds">UW report finds</a>, and World Cup hotel bookings are falling short of expectations.
It&rsquo;s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning.
The <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/why-did-the-seattle-chamber-hire-a-progressive-as-its-new-ceo">interview</a> in today's episode was produced by John O'Brien.
We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenow">Tap here</a>&nbsp;to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.
Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:seattlenow@kuow.org">seattlenow@kuow.org</a>, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or<a href="https://www.kuow.org/feedback">&nbsp;leave us feedback online</a>.

SPS superintendent says district could be insolvent as soon as next year, sexual abuse investigations mishandled at Tacoma ICE lockup, UW report finds, and World Cup hotel bookings are falling short of expectations.

Thursday Evening Headlines

Just in time for summer, Seattle Public Schools started a new cell phone policy.

The goal is to increase student focus.

We’ll get into some new research about what school cell phone bans can actually change for students with Duke University Professor Jason Baron.

Read the study results here.

We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.

Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.

Just in time for summer, Seattle Public Schools started a new cell phone policy.
The goal is to increase student focus.
We&rsquo;ll get into some new research about what school cell phone bans can actually change for students with Duke University Professor Jason Baron.
Read the study results <a href="https://tom-dee.github.io/files/w35132.pdf">here</a>.
We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenow">Tap here</a> to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.
Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:seattlenow@kuow.org">seattlenow@kuow.org</a>, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or<a href="https://www.kuow.org/feedback"> leave us feedback online</a>.

Just in time for summer, Seattle Public Schools started a new cell phone policy.  The goal is to increase student focus.  We’ll get into some new research about what school cell phone bans can actually change for students with Duke University Professor Jason Baron.

The future of Ezell's Famous Chicken may be outside the family that built it

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