Celebrity chef Mario Batali opened Eataly, a massive complex devoted to providing access to authentic Italian food and wines, in New York during the summer of 2010. The building has proved tremendously popular with New Yorkers looking for a taste of Italy and Batali may expand his empire to Los Angeles in the coming years.
As with every success story, there are some people upset by Eataly's popularity. Those people come from the portion of the city known as Little Italy. Though just five percent of the neighborhood's residents still identify as Italian-American, stores devoted to selling Italian foods still remain. But New Yorkers have abandoned those places for Eataly. Now, the store owners of Little Italy want them back. They have launched a campaign to publicize events in the area and continue to tout their lower prices.
"Eataly is for the kind of people who'd rather spend $700 on a pair of shoes than $70," Marcello Assante, owner of Mambo Italiano, told the New York Post.
For all the New Yorkers out there, where do you choose to shop?
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Comments
June 15, 2011
Little Italy, as an out-of-towner, seems like a tourist trap. I have visited there twice and won't be back. It seems contrived, right down to the Albanian waiters. Not surprised business was easily drawn by Eataly. Kudos to Chef Batali.
June 15, 2011
Little Italy in NY seemed to be shrinking for decades and I thought it would be completely absorbed into Chinatown for a while there, but last time I visited it seemed to have expanded a bit. My guess is there's enough of an appetite for Italian food in NY to have both succeed.