Upscale Eataly’s foods planning T.O. store

Almost six years after Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti visited Toronto on a scouting mission, the Italian food emporium has confirmed it will be opening a store in Toronto.

The grocery store, started in an old Turin vermouth factory in 2007, combines upscale supermarket of artisanal goods with restaurants and cooking classes, all under one roof.

Eataly says it has plans for a Toronto store, rumoured to be downtown. It would be similar to its 50,000square-foot New York store in Lower Manhattan, with the Weston family, owner of Loblaws and Holt Renfrew, as partners. While Farinetti has been quoted as saying the Westons are his partner, George Weston Ltd. would not comment.

“I can confirm that we are planning to come to Toronto, but we don’t know the year or the location,” Cristina Villa, Eataly public relations director, said in an email to the Star. “Nothing is set in stone.”

In addition to stores in New York and Chicago, Eataly will open one in Boston in September and another in L.A. in 2017. It has others in Japan, Brazil, Germany, Turkey and Dubai.

“I’ve been hearing this for a while with great anticipation,” said Joel Gregoire, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel in Toronto. “It’s really quite exciting.”

Gregoire said the Eataly concept shows the changing ways consumers shop for groceries. The experience offers knowledgeable staff and selections you wouldn’t usually find at a supermarket, including elaborate meals. “We’re romancing the concept of food,” he said.

The partnership with Weston may help Eataly avoid the same fate as Target, whose Canadian expansion fell flat. Target closed its Canadian operations last year.

Eataly had reportedly been looking for a location near Holt Renfrew in Yorkville.