Guy Fieri says his Flavortown Fest 'still will happen,' despite this year's cancellation
Don’t give up on the idea of a Guy Fieri Flavortown Fest in Columbus, the celebrity chef said Thursday, even though the two-day event that was planned for this weekend got canceled three months ago.
As he cut the ribbon Thursday at his first restaurant in the city of his birth, Fieri at first brushed aside the topic of the festival bearing his name.
“Let’s keep it to the restaurant,” he politely demurred during a news conference for the opening of Guy Fieri’s Trattoria at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
More: Little Grand Market to open in August with tacos, tenders, Cuban, Korean, cookies, more
He quickly went on, though:
“No, I’ll tell you what. You guys asked a question: Am I going to bring you more restaurants? I’ll bring you more of a lot of things. This is kind of a test for us to see where we’re at. We had this great idea to do this festival, and it still will happen. We’ve just got to make sure we’ve got the right people in the right positions making this fly.”
Fieri announced plans in November for the first Guy Fieri's Flavortown Fest and scheduled it for June 1 and 2 at The Lawn at CAS, a 54-acre outdoor venue near Ohio State University.
Tickets went on sale immediately for $155 and up. Kane Brown, Greta Van Fleet, Bret Michaels, LOCASH and Niko Moon were announced as entertainment in January with the promise of more acts to come, but the festival was canceled on Feb. 29.
Organizers cited “unforeseen circumstances.”
Fieri didn’t go into great detail Thursday, but he did offer hints that things weren’t going as he envisioned for Flavortown Fest.
“I don’t do things half-assed,” he said. “I’m an all-or-nothing guy. It’s go big or go home. And if it’s not time to go big, then we go home, you know?”
Fieri was born in Columbus in 1968 but grew up in northern California. During his visit to open Guy Fieri’s Trattoria, he reminisced about family vacations to visit aunts, uncles and cousins in Columbus and Cleveland.
He also offered praise for the Columbus food scene.
“Your town is blown up with food, by the way,” he said. “I’ve been coming to Columbus for quite a while. The food scene has just ratcheted up. Even some of the places that might not have seemed so ‘foodie’ back in the day have upped their game.”
Fieri’s visit to Columbus has included stops at several restaurants for future episodes of his Food Network show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
On Thursday, he visited Wario’s Beef and Pork in the Arena District. The show's signature red Camaro was parked outside Eldorado Scioto Downs later in the day.
Instagram: @dispatchdining
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here is why Guy Fieri canceled Flavortown Fest in Columbus
Solve the daily Crossword
