Eataly, the Mario Batali/Joe Bastanich-owned Italian megastore, is heading to Chicago: Bastianich tells the New York Times that a lease has been signed on a 60,000 square foot space that used to house the ESPN Zone sports bar. There will be a $20 million build-out (which is how much Eataly New York cost) prior to a September 2013 opening. And that's not all: Bastianich confirms Eataly locations are in the works for Los Angeles and Istanbul, and further down the road there are plans for a São Paulo, Brazil location. Eataly Chicago will be the 20th location of the foodstuffs emporium, which has locations in Italy, the US and Japan.
· Eataly Coming to Chicago [NYT]
· All Eataly Coverage on Eater [-E-]