Openings

The Incredible Growing Eataly Still Coming to Chicago… Somewhere

Sunday afternoon at Eataly NY.
Sunday afternoon at Eataly NY. Photo: Sky Full of Bacon

Eataly New York just blew through its revenue projections, according to the New York Times, producing revenue per square foot far in excess of conventional food concepts such as Cheesecake Factory. So it is perhaps not surprising that as its purse grows, so does its ambition for Chicago. A few months back we reported that Eataly was close to signing on the ESPN Zone space, which would have offered about 2/3 the 50,000 square feet of Eataly New York. That might have seemed a wise conservative approach to take then, but the Times says that they’re now looking at spaces even bigger than New York’s, on the order of 60,000 to 70,000 square feet, and offering a broader variety of restaurants than the New York Eataly (which has seven distinct restaurants or eating stands, as well as a vast shopping area). So where is this open space “in the retail heart of Chicago” which will accommodate a SuperMechaEataly? There can’t be that many candidates, but we look forward to finding out soon, because we’ve been dreaming of that braised escarole ever since. [NYT]

The Incredible Growing Eataly Still Coming to Chicago… Somewhere