Eataly, the giant of the Italian food hall, answering the question, “What if everyone believed in Italian food and culture in general, but al massimo?” has drawn up his grand plan for his London debut: a 42,000 square meter colossus right next to Liverpool Street Station, which has been planned since 2017.
Eataly – that is, Eat and Italy together, EATALY – will not settle for the course of the reopening both indoors and out, having grand openings of various kinds that will not once make Liverpool Street with an Abbondanza of pasta, pizza and Pour the injection over, but three times. From April 29th, the dining room and outdoor terrace will open, along with takeaway pizza, pasta, ice cream, cannoli and other Italian foods because this is Eataly. On May 20, two restaurants – Cucina del Mercato and Pasta e Pizza (yes, really) – will open next to a cooking school, and in September Terra will open a fine dining restaurant. It will hope that all four of these things actually make up more.
If this is scanned as a slightly ridiculous letter, it is only because Eataly is slightly ridiculous, in a benevolent manner that goes with espresso cups that are latched and copious gestures. If this is a little ridiculous again, keep in mind that Eataly, which doesn’t settle for nearly 40 locations around the world, has an Eataly theme park that has its own pack of truffle hounds, listed in Truffle World in addition to two point five ( 2.5) acres of retail space and rides, and supposedly every single type of alcohol Italy has ever produced. It’s casual, okay.
Eataly is probably a little ridiculous in America, where it has had the greatest success, because its arrival came before both a grocery store boom and a growing sense among Americans that eating noodles isn’t all that you do Buying pasta. Such multi-faceted marketplaces are more embedded in Europe and London – which probably explains why Eataly grew so big for its UK debut.
Nicola Farinetti, CEO of Eataly – son of founder Oscar, said:
We are excited to finally open our doors in Eataly London to bring our love of Italian gastronomy to the UK at a time when consumers and hospitality professionals value and need it most. Eataly was founded with the vision of bringing together the biodiversity, the craft and the different layers of culinary experiences in Italy under one roof under the motto “Eat, Shop, Learn”. Togetherness is at the heart of our brand and while we will adhere and implement all necessary safety measures, we can’t wait to meet our new locals and celebrate passionate artisans and quality food in a dynamic and culturally diverse reality like London.
Eataly joins a city whose apparent food hall boom has been wiped out by Covid-19: Market Halls and Arcade Food Theater have yet to open. Time Out Market has postponed plans for Waterloo. The “street food” company Kerb’s Off-Street Seven Dials Food Hall has managed to open take-away. Eataly’s split between retail and hospitality will in theory make it more resilient than Market Halls or Time Out, but it will nonetheless hope that the city’s Italians are less mad at the food and more mad at it.
