Eataly hits NY with a punch!
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010The unstoppable team of Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and his mother, Lidia, in collaboration with original Eataly (Torino, Italy) founder Oscar Farinetti have really done it this time. They have created an Italian mecca consisting of 50,000 square feet of all things Italian.
Eataly is located at 200 Fifth Ave., between 23rd and 24th Streets which used to contain the Toy Building. The space is enormous.
Not only eating will happen here among its several restaurants, including a reservation-only aged steak house referred to as Manzo, but housewares, a scuola, where Lidia is the Dean of Studies, and so much more. Fresh pastas are made daily on-site, along with a market consisting of Italian sweets, honeys, jams, produce (locally grown), and olive oils, and even housewares. There are mini-shops within, including a gelateria, a wine shop carrying only Italian wines including many made by the Bastianich family’s estates in Tuscany and Friuli. All things Italian.
In the mood to cook but running short on time? Grab the very diverse and fresh local produce inside Eataly, and make your way to the Vegetable Butcher where she will clean, trim, and chop your ingredients as needed for your dish. Oh… At no extra charge.
Speaking of charges, the buzz among first day customers was that the pricing does not seem to be higher than any other regular shopping venue in NY including places like Whole Foods, etc. Also, many were tickled to see that employees were all running around in the trademark orange Crocs always worn by Mario.
(final photo story at end of article)
On the website, Eataly proclaims its foundations and extrapolates on each of them. They say:
- WE’RE IN LOVE WITH FOOD
- FOOD UNITES US ALL
- OUR PASSION HAS BECOME OUR JOB
- THE SECRET TO QUALITY OF LIFE? QUALITY PRODUCTS
- OUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS EVERYONE
- EAT. SHOP. LEARN.
- YOU ARE OUR CO-PRODUCERS
- OUR THREE PROMISES TO YOU (Choice, Accessibility of best products at lowest prices, and Knowledge of what is sold)
- YOUR TRUST IS EARNED EVERY DAY
Comments heard were, “Amazing”, “Over-the-top!”, and “Outstanding”.
A source informed me this morning that early-on, a line had formed waiting for the doors to open in order to assault the espresso counters so that New Yorkers could get their daily espresso fix. It appears that while inside Eataly, no matter the ethnic background, each of us is an Italian.
Photo source: Nicholas Schwartz
























