Eataly: a unique and “Italian style” tour in the United States with Dino Borri

episode of Italian Wine Podcast takes us overseas, to New York, where more than one of the Eataly group's non-European offices is located: for those who don't know this reality, Eataly is a chain of stores specialized in the sale of Italian food, with attached spaces used as restaurants and cooking schools. Founded in the early 2000s by Oscar Farinetti, it is currently a publicly traded company, with stores distributed across America,

Dino, where are Eataly's main stores located today? In total, if I'm not mistaken, there are more than forty, by now

Exactly. Here in the USA, in addition to the Italian Emporium opened twelve years ago, we find Eataly in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas and soon also in San José. In 2009, I personally took care of the opening of Eataly's Japanese headquarters, Tokyo Mitsukoshi, as head of the company's global partnerships; even during the pandemic, we never stopped, so much so that we opened the first Eataly store in the United Kingdom,

In this phase, the retail sector helped us a lot, not being able to count on the restaurant sector and education. It was certainly a more difficult period, but we weren't scared and here we are, ready to bring Italian food and wine to ever new parts of the world

Speaking of food and wine, you told me about the fact that the sale of drinks, in particular wine, in the United States is subject to special rules. Policies for the distribution of alcohol to consumers change from State to State, is that correct?

Yes, in some stores the Wine Shop must be completely separate from the grocery store, it is not in the same spaces as the normal retail store. Here in New York, for example, we had to separate the two sales areas, even if in Downtown during the pandemic period we could also sell wines since they had allowed each restaurant to also distribute alcohol: at the time you could buy wine and ham at the same time, but now not anymore

Chicago and Los Angeles, on the other hand, have regulations more similar to the Italian ones, as do Las Vegas and Dallas: slowly, however, we are learning that the era of prohibition is a thing of the past and a glass of wine per meal is not a danger to society. We have 1500 labels and more available: Eataly is one of the largest importers of Italian wine, it works with about 600 producers and with some a bond persists that began in 2007, when the very first Eataly store opened in Turin

Do you also organize events and tasting evenings?

Certainly! Right here every Friday evening we dedicate space to a specific wine, such as Brunello di Montalcino, Barbaresco, Barolo, trying to match them with the season. Every time we present a product, then, even in the case of the food sector, we try to tell the story, the origin, the valuable points, even the menus are provided with a minimum of description that intrigues

Our staff must know each product perfectly, to contextualize it and give it value: whether it's beverage or gastronomy, there must be competence in the story of every dish or drink. As far as tastings are concerned, Massimo Bottura was here a short time ago for an evening reserved for about 300 people, although usually the groups invited are smaller to allow interaction

Did this also happen during the Covid period?

Not in the same way, but we have used digital technologies to organize virtual tastings or “Italian style” aperitifs, not only focusing on wine but also on cheeses. Also with regard to purchases, we have found good success with the delivery service and the online inclusion of product catalogs, which are still used to learn about the Eataly offer

To conclude the interview, let's talk about Eataly's latest Italian news: the opening of the new headquarters in the former warehouses of Verona. When will it be held? What more can you tell us?

First of all, I love the location chosen for the new store, not only because the former Specialized Refrigeration Station is located in front of Verona Fiere but above all because it is a historic place, with valuable architectural value. The headquarters will open at the end of September and will have one hundred employees on its staff, as well as an art pavilion with a first exhibition program

We therefore invite you not to miss the conversation between Dino and

Stevie Kim