Eataly in Chicago -- Coming Soon!
 

A few weeks ago while walking through the River North area I saw signs there soon will be an Eataly in downtown Chicago. It's on Ohio (I think around Rush and Wabash - just off MagMile) and it's huge. It looks like the construction/retrofit is nearly done. The targeted opening date is "mid-November" -- I'm sure they will try to be open before the holiday shopping crush starts at Thanksgiving. This will be the second Eataly in the US, the other being in Manhattan, of course. I hope to be back there in late Nov or in Dec and look forward to checking it out.

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/20...for-eataly.php

http://www.eataly.com/market

Yea!

Will be looking for this on our Dec trip.

Now I am excited. I always go shopping on the Mag Mile in December.

Fox and Obel and EATALY so near each other, foodie shopping and eating heaven!

Hard for me to believe they'll open in time. Construction has been going on since late spring and, as slow as they work, and as unfinished as it appears [as I walk by the construction site several times a day (I work in the building) and the doors are always open], they're really going to need to pick up the pace. The escalator is in, and the unpainted drywall on the inner perimeter walls, but no flooring or finished interior walls, yet. Hopefully they'll pull it off...will be nice for the holiday shoppers.

@ HappyTrvlr: Sadly, Fox and Obel has had some issues and they've been closed (for food safety reasons, I believe), but maybe that's been sorted out. Also, the only location I know of is east of Michigan, about 3/4 mile from where this Eataly is. If you like the gourmet grocery stores, there's Goddess and Grocer (also, not in the vicinity of Eataly, but north a mile, or just under a mile).

Sorry...just looked up Fox & Obel. Closing permanently. Not for food safety, but financial reasons.

Sad to learn about Fox and Obel. Last time I lived in Chicago I was a few blocks from it and was there daily. But Whole Foods and Trader Joes were also within reach.

Yes, it was my go-to for a light dinner before I hit the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Will miss it.

I am sorry to hear about Fox and Obel closing too. I have eaten there several times, always good food. The deli always looked fabulous, but I was mainly just looking. I bought a few of their little fruit tarts in the past, a special treat. Their wine and cheese was great variety, I've bought for Christmas presents. I really am hoping Eataly is open by December. I've always wanted to get to the NYC location.

This sounds like a fun place. Bookmarking for my NYE trip.

RIP Fox and Obel.

Drywall is in-not yet painted. I'm listening to them drilling in the floor below me as I type. Hope it's not a disappointment. Hard to imagine it'll be as good as NYC. Chicago just doesn't seem as experience with urban, gourmet markets.

According to Mario Batali, it will open either Nov 22 or Nov 29.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...s-opening-date

Now slated to open Monday, Dec. 2nd. Looking pretty swank, but again... I just don't know about gourmet markets in Chicago. Beer and wine sellers, yes. But olive and mozzarella bars...? Let's hope they've got a food court.

In NYC each of the food areas also serves that type of food ( verdure , salumeria, pasta etc ) I love Pesce , the fish mkt , and have eaten there several times .
Lots of wonderful choices, not a food court, much much better , high quality, Mario Batalli , Joe Bastianich.

Has anyone been to this yet? Comments?

I've popped in a couple times. It's two levels and a bit of an overload of the senses at this time. (Being so new, there are crowds.) Wide open space, open to 2nd story. White, modern decor.

Street level has a small fruit & veggie market, gelato, nutella stand, coffee/bakery, sandwich/paninis and housewares, plus cafe tables all about to sit and people watch.

Level 2 has cheeses, meat, fish, bakery, wines, plus grocery shelves of imported Italian olive oil, pastas, sauces, biscuits, soaps, etc. The 2nd story has more delineated "dining" spaces, too. Tables are pre-set with wine glasses to encourage drinking.

Prices are fairly high, as expected. (Ex. a fuyu persimmon is $1.50 at Eataly, $.69 at Trader Joes; bags of imported pastas $9-12; small jars of pesto $9-11.) I don't eat meat, so I hurried past the meat stands, but the fish offerings seemed nice, but displayed rather poorly.

It's a lively, noisy, gourmet grocery. Nothing we haven't seen before. It's like the bigger, better Whole Foods that are about but with an Italian gloss. More of a food "museum" than a grocery.

Would be quite nice to put together a gift basket of Italian things (it made me want to return to Italy more than anything), but not a place where I'd buy anything for myself. I'd walk to one of Chicago's L'Appetito Delis for better prices on espresso and panettone, pastas and fresh mozzarella, and especially, their Italian cookie selection.

A nice enough set up to get in out of the cold for 15 minutes and browse, or if you need to meet with someone for a short meeting. There are better places to go for lunch or meet someone for a coffee if you want to talk. Servers/staff are very young and don't appear to know their roles well... but it is still the first week. I imagine in the cheese, wine department, they may have folks that are fairly knowledgeable.

In any case, it's a nice addition to my neighborhood. Big glass windows to look in at, in any case. Very pretty. I think it's going to come down to the service (and their knowledge & upselling talents) whether or not this place thrives.

ChgoGal, thank you so much. That was a good review.

My friends and I are having a shopping day on Sat Dec 14 (I know, very busy time) and had thought to have lunch there. This is s yearly trip, and we have in the past had lunch at the Signature Room, Macy's Walnut Room, The Grand Lux, and believe it or not even Ed Debevic's one year. I'm worried that this might be too crowded on a Saturday before Christmas and it sounds like my worries are justified. I thought there was sit down dining on the second floor. I had been trying to figure out if reservations were needed, but maybe I should look at some other place in the neighborhood. Thanks again.

Don't the various areas, i.e. fish, salumeria, pasta, offer table seating as well as a bar? That's how it's done in NYC and I have always had such good luck eating there.
I went by the Chicago EATLATY last week and it looked smaller than NY but now understand it is spread over two floors.