The original restaurant opened on
Capitol Hill in 2011. The
South Lake Union restaurant opened in November 2016. The
White Center location opened in the
beer hall called Beer Star in 2017. In 2019, Lil Woody's became a vendor at
T-Mobile Park, and announced plans to operate at
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. The company was announced as a vendor for
Climate Pledge Arena in 2021. The arena location features "just walk out" technology. Lil Woody's expanded the executive team to manage these expansions. For the
2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the T-Mobile Park location offered a garlic fry burger for a limited time. In 2023, the restaurant expanded to Japan, opening in the Dogenzaka-dori building in
Shibuya, Tokyo. The expansion made Lil Woody's the first Seattle-based burger restaurant to operate in Japan. The store closed in September 2025. Lil Woody's has an annual tradition of featuring burger specials in February, in collaboration with local chefs. Participants have included chefs from
Archipelago,
Cafe Campagne,
Canlis, and
Spice Waala.
J. Kenji López-Alt participated in 2022, and chefs from
Communion and
Off Alley participated in 2023. == Reception ==