Guy Fieri's Trattoria, his first Italian restaurant, to open in Columbus on June 2

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Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is coming to Columbus on May 30 for a VIP preview of his new restaurant at Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs. Guy Fieri's Trattoria is to open to the public June 2.

The Columbus native, whose local ties prompted a 2020 Change.org petition to change the city's name to Flavortown, is opening his first exclusively Italian restaurant at the racetrack and casino on the Far South Side. He hasn't shared the menu yet, but the Scioto Downs website promises a "flavorful twist" to classic Italian dishes.

Related: All the 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' restaurants Guy Fieri has visited in Ohio

Celebrity chef and television host Guy Fieri is to visit Columbus on May 30 to open his new restaurant at Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs
Celebrity chef and television host Guy Fieri is to visit Columbus on May 30 to open his new restaurant at Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs

Two specifics: a fried-mozzarella tower and a 68-layer lasagna.

Fieri, 56, gained fame on the Food Network after winning a 2006 competition and its prize of becoming a cooking-show host. He's now the face of the network and the owner of 17 restaurant brands with more than 80 locations.

He hasn't been as lucky in his hometown, though.

Four ghost kitchens under his Flavortown Kitchen label operated briefly in Columbus during 2021 but are now closed. And sandwiched between next week's opening celebrations for Guy Fieri's Trattoria is a Columbus event that was crossed off Fieri's calendar in February when he canceled what was supposed to be the world's first Fieri-branded Flavortown Fest.

Organizers cited "unforeseen circumstances" in calling off the two-day festival that had been scheduled for June 1 and 2 at The Lawn at CAS.

rvitale@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Guy Fieri to open his Columbus restaurant to the public June 2