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Food Halls of America 2016
Eataly
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS: NEW YORK MIDTOWN,
NEW YORK FINANCIAL DISTRICT, CHICAGO AND
COMING SOON TO BOSTON AND LOS ANGELES
I
f there is a single face to the food hall
trend for the average American
consumer, it is the face of Eataly. Italian
businessman Oscar Farinetti launched the
Eataly concept in 2007 in a shuttered
vermouth factory in Turin, Italy. Since then,
Eataly has opened 13 stores in Italy, three
in the U.S. and additional locations in Sao
Paolo, Monaco, Istanbul, Dubai, Tokyo and
Seoul. Currently under development is
Eataly World, a 20-acre gourmet theme
park near Bologna, Italy that will feature
more than 20 sit-down restaurants and
“educational working farms” where visitors
can experience the farm-to-fork
movement first-hand.
In the U.S., Eataly has partnered with
celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Joe
Bastianich to help create what is now the
model of the single-purveyor food hall.
Instead of leasing space on a plug-and-
play basis to individual vendors, Eataly
partners with artisanal vendors and then
manages those partnerships, creating a
chef-driven experience that delivers a
gourmet marketplace and authentic,
prepared Italian food options under one
roof. Those options range from pizza and
street food to fresh pasta, seafood, steak
and chops.
To date there are three locations open
in the U.S., with another two slated for
delivery in early 2017. The 58,000 sf Eataly
in New York City’s Flatiron Building was
the chain’s first location in the U.S., having
opened in 2010. Following was the
63,000 sf Eataly Chicago, which opened
on the Windy City’s Miracle Mile in 2013.
In August of this year, Eataly opened its
second New York City location at the new
Westfield World Trade Center Mall; its
45,000 sf arguably serves as one of the
Mall’s major anchor tenants.
Other U.S.-based Eataly projects are in
progress. The 45,000 sf Eataly Boston
is currently under construction at the
Prudential Center in Boston’s Back Bay
neighborhood, and scheduled for delivery
in late 2016. Los Angeles’ first Eataly is the
focal point of Westfield’s massive $800
million renovation of its Century City Mall,
and scheduled to open in early 2017.
Meanwhile, rumors continue about
potential deals for Eataly locations in
Philadelphia, Washington DC and a
number of other cities. Look for more
Eataly food halls to enter the development
pipeline in the months ahead, with this
concept increasingly proving to be a
favorite new mall anchor tenant.