Clayton J.
Yelp
I don't know when Ezell's started, but I know I have been eating it for more than 30 years, possibly back into the late 80's. In college there was a location on University Ave and I was no stranger. There was also a couple Tacoma locations I visited that no longer exist, but in the early days, the Garfield location was my mainstay as my barber was a block away.
About the time the namesake was ousted, I noticed a decline in product. The piece of chicken got smaller, the flavor was inconsistent and service was in many cases incompetent serving the wrong order, or just general confusion in locations.
A friend told me that an original owner owned this location and that the food here tastes as good as it did 25 years ago. I can tell you, this is not the case and I will be updating my friend with this experience.
I came in for lunch today. I got the two piece lunch special. I could see the chicken and the fries, so I assumed I'd be on my way in less than 5 minutes. After 15 minutes, I asked for a manager, and he prepared my meal. The chicken was almost black from being overcooked and it was dry. The fries were limp, under-cooked and room temp, because they were cooked at the time of my order and the kicker was the roll was stale and tasted like it was day old.
This was without a doubt the worst chicken I have ever paid for and ownership needs to be on scene to ensure this place is the flagship it should be. If I'd never had Ezell's before, I'd think anyone that recommended it was crazy. There was a time when it would satisfy, make you happy and all for an undeniable price. Now it's spendy, portions are tiny and it never tastes fresh.
The fact that the rating for this place is 2.3/5 and a founder owns it tells you everything you need to know about what to expect. I would assume profits are coming from Franchise agreements. I will never step foot in this location again and it's questionable the next time I consider giving them a try. After decades of being in business, Ezell's continues to proves they are amateurs.
It wasn't even busy and they couldn't keep it together and the women eating and cooking at the same time, I'm just going to assume that is a health code violation.
An embarrassment to the legacy, neighborhood and reputation of a once world class establishment.
Raising Canes is coming to Renton next year and it can't happen soon enough. With a presence in Seattle, Ezell's is going to have to step it up, or pad lock the doors, because no one going to continue to pay for this low quality, overpriced trash!!!