An online petition to change the name of Columbus to Flavortown after central Ohio native Guy Fieri is garnering tens of thousands of signatures.
Fieri is an Emmy-winning celebrity chef and food author who was born in Columbus and later coined the term Flavortown during his televised restaurant reviews.
The petition states that the name also symbolizes Columbus’ status as a “crossroads of culinary innovation.”
The city is named for Christopher Columbus, who was one of the first Europeans to set foot in the Americas and is considered a controversial figure due to his enslavement of the indigenous people he encountered.
The City of Columbus recently decided to take down its Christopher Columbus statue.