For all of its health-conscious imagery, Los Angeles is just one big faker (like that’s a news flash). The same city that has people smoking a pack of smokes after a three-mile jog also has the best local fast-food chains in the world: In-N-Out. Tommy’s. Fatburger. So Orlando Brown, an ex-NFL lineman who was blinded in one eye when a referee’s weighted flag hit him there during a game, has decided to bring the last one to Baltimore and D.C. Ten of them to be exact. Um, brother, can you spare one for NYC?

Brown plans to open Maryland’s first Fatburger — the Southern California chain synonymous with big, juicy burgers and Hollywood celebrities — in August. The Columbia restaurant will be, he said, the first of 10 stores in six years he plans on opening in the Baltimore-Washington area.

“When I was hurt, I kept saying ‘When I’m done with football I’m going to need something to take that place,’” said Brown, who said he became a fan of the chain during his recuperation. “I can afford [to get by] with the lawsuit money,” he said, “but I want to work and get my hands dirty.”

Fatburger, which got its start in South Central Los Angeles in 1952 when “fat” was used as slang for “good,” has since become a popular investment among some black celebrities. Montel Williams owns five in Denver, Kanye West has the Chicago region and Queen Latifah opened a Fatburger in Miami’s South Beach in February.

Uh, hello Jay-Z… Fifty… Damn, we’d take the Fu-Schinckens to open up Fatburgers in New York City. You can only eat so many White Castles before your taste buds begin to deteriorate from something that’s “steam broiled.”

Former Raven Brown bringing Fatburger chain to Maryland [The Daily Record, via Deuce of Davenport]
Image [The Daily Record]