It will be a ribbon-cutting like no other.
On Thursday afternoon, the CEO of the world’s largest Italian food emporiums will cut the grand-opening ribbon — made of pasta, of course — and throw open the doors of Eataly Silicon Valley to what’s likely to be hundreds of Italophiles lined up at Westfield Valley Fair.
Inside this three-story, 45,000-square-foot culinary palace, shoppers and diners will find a marketplace featuring 10,000 fresh and packaged foods (pasta, cheese, salumi, olive oil, sauces, gelato, wine, espresso and more); meat, seafood and produce counters; two restaurants, several cafes, counters and bakeries; and a wine store with 1,200 bottles and a tasting room.
It’s Northern California’s first Eataly and a retail coup for the Santa Clara/San Jose mall, which is coming close to completing a billion-dollar expansion.
Eataly was founded in Turin, Italy, in 2007 by Oscar Farinetti, who first made his name with a chain of consumer electronics stores before being inspired by the markets of Istanbul, London and Barcelona to turn to food. He originally planned to name the venture “Eat Italy,” then decided to go with the portmanteau. He and his son Nicola, now CEO, spread the joy of cooking and eating Italian food globally, with 41 locations worldwide. This is the eighth in the United States.
The market hall’s “shop, eat, learn” concept informs the offerings and the layout. Open kitchens and “production labs” abound. Every dish is made with ingredients that can be purchased onsite for at-home enjoyment. Coming soon: cooking classes and specialty dinners.
“You will see artisan products, you will see talent, you will see the action involved in producing and presenting food,” Raffaele Piarulli, the chief operating officer of Eataly North America, told the Bay Area News Group. “Our kitchens will be visible. You will see how pasta is made, how bread is made.”
True to their promise made when the project was first announced in 2019, Eataly executives have partnered with a number of Northern California purveyors, including Cream Co. Meats, Green Bee Farm and Straus Family Creamery.
Here’s a quick look at what Eataly offers:
Opening day: Yes, expect lines. “We always experience a lot of excitement from the community around the store on opening day, and that excitement translates into people wanting to be the first to experience the store,” an Eataly spokeswoman said.
Speeches by local dignitaries and Eataly executives will begin at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Starting at 5 p.m., guests may enter through the outdoor entrance at Valley Fair’s restaurant plaza. (There’s a gift for the first 100 people in line.)
On Friday, Eataly will open more entrances but closely monitor crowds. The regular opening hours will be in effect. (See below for specifics.)
First floor: The take-away eateries are situated on the ground level, giving customers easy access from the mall to Pizza alla Pala, with its flatbread pizzas made from stone-ground Piemonte flour and baked on paddles; Caffe Lavazza, the Torino espresso specialist serving glasses of bicerin (espresso, hot chocolate, whipped milk) and other coffee drinks; La Gastronomia, with grab-and-go dishes and pizza slices; La Pasticceria, featuring cannoli and tiramisu; and Il Gelato, with artisanal flavors made onsite.
Second floor: This floor is devoted to Eataly Vino, with 1,200 wines representing all 20 of Italy’s wine regions, from the high-elevation Aosta Valley in the northwest to Calabria and Sicily in the south. Wine education classes will take place in La Scuola.
Third floor: This 30,000-square-foot floor is home to the two sit-down restaurants — the rooftop TERRA and La Pizza & La Pasta, both with bars — along with the fresh counters, the demonstration labs and that 10,000-product marketplace. Reservations for TERRA are filled up, but seating at La Pizza & La Pasta may be available.
Hours/details: It’s a 5 p.m. opening for Thursday only. Starting Friday, Eataly will be open daily with varying department hours. First floor: Caffe Lavazza and La Pasticceria, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pizza Alla Pala, La Gastronomia and Il Gelato, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Second floor: Wine store, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Third floor: Eataly’s marketplace has the longest hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. most nights, until 11 on Friday-Saturday. Fresh counters, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Restaurants: Terra, 5 to 9 p.m. most nights, until 9:30 Friday-Saturday. La Pizza & La Pasta, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. most nights, until 9:30 Friday-Saturday. 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara; www.eataly.com/us_en/stores/silicon-valley/
Source: www.mercurynews.com