The Italian biggest food hall and market Eataly will open in Aventura Mall, Miami, next year. “It’s basically a place where you can treat yourself,” Tommaso Brusò, the Italian brand’s CEO for North America, told the Miami Herald. He said the ambition of Eataly, which will be located above the Louis Vuitton store in the Nordstrom wing of the Aventura Mall is to “replicate what Italy is today. So when you visit Eataly, you’re supposed to have the same experience when you physically go to Italy, without flying or packing your luggage. We are an ambassador for the Italian lifestyle.”
The brainchild of Oscar Farinetti, Eataly opened in 2007 in Torino, Italy, inside a former vermouth factory. The concept was to create a gathering place where people could eat, learn about Italian food, and then shop for what’s needed to develop it at home.
Now, there are more than 50 locations across the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Silicon Valley. Current expansion plans are focusing on North America, including new spots in Toronto, New Jersey, and possibly a little further north in Florida. The strategy, Bruso said, is to double the business in the next few years.
EATALY MIAMI IN AVENTURA
The Eataly in Aventura is likely to open in the spring of 2025. That location was chosen because Brusò, who spent 25 years in the fashion industry, and his team viewed it as a local destination. The space, which will total more than 30,000 square feet, will feature a variety of vendors. The main floor will be geared toward quick service, with a counter that serves casual and grab-and-go fare like pastries, coffee, panini, pizza alla pala, and gelato.
There’s also a market where customers can shop for items like fresh pasta, olive oil, special cheeses, and salumi. Groceries including produce, meat, and fish will also be available, likely to be provided by a local vendor. There’s also a wine store specializing in Italian wine.
The main floor also includes two sit-down restaurants with separate menus, Eataly Ristorante and Il Pastaio, which will offer indoor and outdoor seating and extra seating downstairs.
There’s also an educational angle to the brand. Customers can watch pasta being made by hand and learn how to make it themselves, then pop over to the retail side of Eataly to buy ingredients.
“We are not the company that competes with other restaurants, with the retail, with other bars, or with the wine store,” Brusò said. “It’s a destination.” In his mind, Eataly’s competition is what someone told him at a Toronto convention: Eataly’s main competitor is Italy itself. “I think we’re able to duplicate the same emotions and lifestyle as when people come to see us there,” he said.