Christopher Columbus, once beloved, is now rightly recognized as the genocidal monster he was. And Guy Fieri, once despised, is now rightly recognized as the benevolent food mayor he is. It makes some amount of sense, then, that tens of thousands would flock to this petition that aims to rechristen Columbus, Ohio “Flavortown,” thus finally offering permanence to what, until now, has only been a beautiful idea.
“The new name is twofold,” reads a statement accompanying the petition. “For one, it honors Central Ohio’s proud heritage as a culinary crossroads and one of the nation’s largest test markets for the food industry. Secondly, cheflebrity Guy Fieri was born in Columbus, so naming the city in honor of him (he’s such a good dude, really) would be superior to its current nomenclature.”
We’ve highlighted Fieri’s charity work a few times in the past, but just over the last few months he’s helped raise more than $22 million for restaurant workers impacted by the pandemic. “That kind of optimism and charitable work embodies more of what Columbus, Ohio, is about rather than the tarnished legacy of Christopher Columbus,” Tyler Woodbridge, the petition’s creator, told CNN.