Here at The Montclair Girl, we pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge of local happenings. We read the news, check our DMs, and do our best to stay on top of things. But one story eluded us for weeks earlier this year: a rumor that world-famous Italian market and eatery Eataly had plans for a location in the Short Hills Mall. After multiple trips to the Short Hills Mall, the mall directory revealed that Eataly would be coming to Essex County back in March — and now, we know it plans to open this fall. Read on for everything we know about Eataly’s arrival in New Jersey.
What We Know
The first mention of an Eataly location bubbled up via local influencer NJ Hipsturbia Collective’s Instagram. The team shared a post reading, “Eataly is coming to New Jersey by the end of 2024 in the previous Primo Mercado location at the Short Hills Mall. This will be Eataly’s first location in New Jersey. Construction has already begun at the Mall.” When reached for comment, the team would only reveal that they had gotten the information from “a reputable source at Short Hills Mall.”
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Members of the MG team have visited other Eataly locations and are excited about the possibility, so we sprung into action. Earlier this year, we contacted Eataly’s corporate headquarters. We contacted the Short Hills Mall management. We even went to Short Hills Mall to see for ourselves.
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We got: no calls or emails in response to our queries. We saw: no construction.
Meanwhile, other local news outlets reported on Eataly’s opening as fact. We saw the story in NJ.com, TapInto, Jersey Digs, and New Jersey Monthly.
Finally, on March 10th, we were able to get confirmation with our own two eyes. The mall directory now had Eataly listed.
Now, as of September 2024, signage at the mall has revealed that Eataly plans to open its first New Jersey location this fall. While the exact opening date is unknown at this time, we will update this post as more details come out.
All About Eataly
Eataly was founded in Turin, Italy on January 27th, 2007 by Oscar Farinetti, per Eataly’s website. Oscar’s vision for Eataly extended beyond creating a store — he aspired to establish an understanding of life through the lens of food. With this concept in mind, Oscar created a school, a market, and a table to bring people together in one place. Over time, Eataly expanded its footprint across the world, including locations in New York, Los Angeles, Germany, Japan, and London.
^ Eataly’s Chicago location
Before Oscar opened the first Eataly in Italy, he traveled across 20 regions to select local producers who aligned with the Slow Food partner’s criteria for cuisine that is fresh and delicious. These chosen Italian producers import fresh ingredients from Italy such as Afeltra’s bronze-extruded, air-dried pasta from southern Gragnano, and Niasca Portofino’s freshly jarred pesto Genovese from northern Liguria.
Eataly will be located on the first floor of the mall, near Bloomingdales’, in the space that formerly held Mercado. Eataly provides a variety of dining options like a pizzeria, a pasta bar, a meat and cheese counter, and a gelato shop. Aside from dining, Eataly is also a retail market that has Italian groceries, cookware, and tableware.
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Depending on the location, Eataly tailors its dining experiences to suit individual tastes. Specific restaurant names for its New Jersey location remain unknown at this time.
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Eataly shoppers can expect the same Italian cooking and lifestyle shopping and dining experience as at other locations. In addition to shopping for Italian groceries and ingredients, the store also has home goods and personal products for sale. The food hall portion features different dining counters with different experiences. Other Eataly locations have choices such as seafood, cheese, gelato, and even one counter in Chicago is dedicated solely to Nutella. Eataly also has cooking classes and other instruction. Some selections from other locations include wine tastings and truffles.
For further updates on Eataly’s arrival in Short Hills Mall, follow @themontclairgirl on Instagram and TikTok, and sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
