IMAGE VIA @FATONEDOGS INSTAGRAM
Fat One’s Hot Dogs & Italian Ice (Instagram), the restaurant concept from former NSYNC member Joey Fatone, is nearing its opening at Universal CityWalk, with Fatone saying the restaurant will open sometime this month.
The restaurant is taking over the former Hot Dog Hall of Fame location at CityWalk, which closed in July after operating there since 2014, according to Attractions Magazine. New photos taken September 1 (embedded below) show Fat One’s signage, banners, and branding now installed throughout the space, with the location’s stadium-style seating and baseball-inspired flooring still visible from its previous concept. Fatone followed up in the comments, saying the opening will definitely happen this month, that the team is finalizing the date, and that he expects it to land on a weekend. He said a formal announcement is coming soon.
Universal Orlando first announced Fat One’s as the replacement for Hot Dog Hall of Fame in May, describing the concept as featuring creative, flavor-packed hot dogs, Italian ice and more. A full menu for the CityWalk location has not been released, though the restaurant’s food truck menu includes gourmet hot dogs with toppings like pulled pork, bacon jam, and beer cheese, served alongside a thick-cut side dish called Brooklyn Flats.
Fat One’s was founded by Fatone and his manager, Joe Mulvihill. Fatone, a New York native who moved to the Orlando area as a teenager and attended Dr. Phillips High School, worked as a performer at Universal Studios Florida before finding fame with NSYNC, the boy band that formed in Orlando in the 1990s. He opened the first Fat One’s location at The Florida Mall in 2016, followed by a Central Florida food truck in 2018.
