Eataly is coming to Aventura. Here’s what to know about the Italian food hall and market

When the world-famous Eataly opens in Aventura next year, many people will think of it as a food hall.

But Tommaso Bruso, the Italian brand’s CEO for North America, says that image isn’t quite right.

“It’s basically a place where you can treat yourself,” he said of Eataly, which will be located above the Louis Vuitton store in the Nordstrom wing of the Aventura Mall. “The ambition for us is to replicate what Italy is today. So when you come to visit Eataly, you’re supposed to have the same experience that you have when you go to Italy physically, without the 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 create 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.

The Eataly in Aventura is likely to open in the spring of 2025, he said, adding that the location was chosen because Bruso, 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, Bruso said. There’s also a wine store specializing in — what else? — 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.

And if would-be chefs need inspiration, there’s also an educational angle to the brand, Bruso said. 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 (and a bottle of wine to go with dinner).

The variety of what Eataly offers means its components don’t really compete with individual stores, Bruso said.

“We are not the company that competes with other restaurants or competes with the retail or competes with other bars or compete with the wine store,” he 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.

“It is true,” he said. “I think we’re really able to duplicate the same emotions and lifestyle as when people come to see us there.”