As far as teen heartthrobs go, the members of ‘N Sync have done alright for themselves in the post-boy-band era. Justin Timberlake, as we all know, has gone onto release a series of platinum selling records, collaborating with everyone from Timbaland to Pharrell to Jay Z, and Lance Bass almost became a freaking astronaut for God’s sake.
Now—after appearing in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, and hosting the Food Network cooking competition Rewrapped—Fatone has finally completed his transformation into a pop-star Guy Fieri. On Monday, Fatone announced via Twitter that he would be opening his very own “Fat Ones” hot dog and Italian ice cart inside the Florida Mall, nestled right between Five Guys and La Madeleine Country French Café.
"After years of working on television food shows, I'm excited to open this new venture which is a combination of who I am, where I'm from and where I've been," Fatone, Founder told the Orlando Sentinel in a statement. "Launching Fat One's at The Florida Mall, where I roamed as a middle school kid, felt like a perfect fit for our first location."
According to the Sentinel, Fat Ones—a play on Fatone’s name—will open this August and feature signature flavors like the "Gone Hollywood," and the "Boybander." And while Fatone has vehemently denied allegations that he’s Fieri’s doppelganger over the years—telling Sean Evans that he’s never dyed his goatee a frosty blond while taking on the Hot Ones challenge—the singer seems to be following in the Mayor of Flavortown’s foodcart footsteps. Fieri famously got his start in the culinary world by opening “The Awesome Pretzel Cart” as a middle-schooler in California.
Fieri has clearly been an inspiration on Fatone’s food career. In 2013, when the Food Network asked the star who his “culinary icon” is, the answer was obvious.
“Guy Fieri because he looks like me,” he admitted.
[via Mic, Orlando Sentinel]