Idol Star Plans Restaurant Chain For Clubbers

American Idol winner Ruben Studdard has his sights set on becoming a restaurateur after claiming there's nowhere to eat late in his native Birmingham, Alabama.

The larger-than-life soul singer is in negotiations to open a chain of diners that will cater for late-night revellers.

He says, "I'm in the process of brainstorming with my marketing team and all that stuff, trying to come up with a concept for a late-night restaurant for people in Birmingham.

"It's gonna be open until probably like three or four o'clock in the morning.

"It's gonna be classy, it's not gonna be just a thrown-together restaurant. We're gonna have all the Southern favorites."

And Studdard already has a few names in mind: "It was gonna be Fat Boys, but I was driving around in Florida and I saw a restaurant called Fat Boys and I was like, 'Dang it.'"

Studdard hopes to have plans for his diner finalized by early this year.