Who had Columbia’s favorite fried chicken in The State’s poll? Meet the winner
For decades, Drake’s Duck-In has been a go-to spot in downtown Columbia for fried chicken.
Now readers of The State have contributed to the latest chapter in the local spot’s chicken legacy.
Drake’s, which is located 1544 Main St., finished at the top of The State’s 2025 Fried Chicken Poll. The poll, which ran on the paper’s website from Nov. 5-11, featured 13 restaurants from across the Midlands that are known for serving a mean bird.
More than 51,000 votes were cast in the unscientific poll, and in the end it essentially boiled down to a two-way dance between Drake’s and Bluff Road’s Bernie’s Chicken. When the feathers finished flying, Drake’s secured 57 percent of the votes, while Bernie’s got 41 percent.
Drake’s co-owner Daniel Boan said he was delighted to see the Main Street restaurant secure the win. This marks the second time Drake’s has taken the paper’s chicken poll crown, having also won back in 2023.
“We are under the radar for a lot of people, particularly new people in Columbia,” Boan said. “But our fans and customers are very dedicated and very loyal. I think this [poll] was a tribute to that.”
Drake’s has had a presence in Columbia, in one location or another, since 1907. For the last three decades it has been located at 1544 Main. Boan and fellow co-owner Matthew Bridges have owned the business for 10 years, having purchased it in 2015 from longtime proprietor Steve Rowland.
The restaurant, long a favorite of downtown office dwellers, college students, working class Columbians and others, underwent a major remodeling in 2024, and made several tweaks to their menu, adding expanded breakfast offerings, new smash burgers and fresh-cut fries. But one thing that did not change, intentionally, was Drake’s fried chicken.
Boan notes it is made the same way it always has been.
The co-owner said part of the secret of the chicken is that it is prepped by longtime Drake’s manager Edwina “Tiny” Harmon, who has been a fixture at the restaurant for decades.
“It is 100% the exact same fried chicken,” Boan said. “Tiny has been making the batter and frying chicken since the 1990s. And she’s still there making the batter and frying the chicken today.”
The menu at Drake’s certainly looks a little different than it did in the restaurant’s yesteryear. There are Belgian waffles and overnight oats on the breakfast lineup. There’s a selection of salads on the lunch menu, and even a tofu sandwich. But through it all, fried chicken remains the top seller.
“It is definitely the number one,” Boan said, with a chuckle. “Of our top five dishes, fried chicken is in four of them. Our new burgers are gaining popularity, but the chicken still just remains very, very popular.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
