Large-format Italian food marketplace Eataly will open its second location in Canada at CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto next year. Landlord Cadillac Fairview announced Wednesday that Eataly had signed a multi-year lease for the shopping centre near the Western border of Toronto and Mississauga.
It will be Eataly’s second Toronto location, following the fall 2019 opening of a 55,000 square foot downtown location at the Manulife Centre at 55 Bloor Street West.
It hasn’t been formally announced when Eataly will open its CF Sherway Gardens location. Retail Insider attended the ICSC Toronto Conference on Wednesday and a representative for Cadillac Fairview said that Eataly will be replacing a Pickle Barrel restaurant location along with adjacent retail spaces next to the mall entrance to Saks Fifth Avenue. Looking at a lease plan for CF Sherway Gardens, it would appear that Eataly will span between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet in the mall depending on how it is configured.
“We have been humbled by the warmth of our guests in Toronto and we are thankful to this incredible community for how they welcomed us since we first opened our doors here in 2019. We would like to thank all of our valued partners who have helped us, including Tony Grossi and the Weston family and, of course, we would like to thank our newest partner, Cadillac Fairview,” said Luca Baffigo, global head of development and partner of Eataly.
The Weston family’s investment arm, Wittington Ventures, owns a minority interest in Eataly in Canada and Tony Grossi handles leasing for the company.
“CF Sherway Gardens is a perfect home to bring Eataly’s values of high quality Italian food and experiences to even more people. This store will continue Eataly’s tradition as a go-to destination for dining and for authentic Italian products and wine, and will allow us to deepen our relationship with our valued local Canadian producers. We look forward to getting to work on opening this newest outpost in the Eataly family,” Baffigo went on to say in a statement.
Salvatore Iacono, EVP of Operations at Cadillac Fairview said, “At CF Sherway Gardens we pride ourselves on offering a premium retail experience and an important part of our offering is elevated dining options. We could not think of a better partner to join the shopping centre, bringing their uniquely authentic cuisine and concept to Toronto’s west end.”
CF Sherway Gardens is one of Canada’s most productive shopping centres in terms of sales per square foot, with over 175 stores. The centre has seen hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in renovations over the past decade, including an expansion wing, an elevated food court, and six full-service restaurants. In 2016, Saks Fifth Avenue opened a 143,000 square foot store in the mall (which has since been downsized) and Nordstrom opened in 2017. Hudson’s Bay is the largest anchor store in the mall.
Eataly will join another Italian grocery concept at CF Sherway Gardens. Toronto-based Pusateri’s Fine Foods operates a Saks Fifth Avenue food hall in the basement of the mall’s Saks store.
The announcement of Eataly at CF Sherway Gardens came as a surprise, particularly as Retail Insider had been getting information prior to and during the pandemic that Eataly had been looking at opening at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. One source said that Eataly had been considering a 25,000 square foot space in the middle of the mall that has recently housed pop-up entertainment concepts (most recently one based on the hit TV show ‘Friends’). Another option involved reconfiguring space at the north end of Yorkdale facing a parking lot for Eataly.
Eataly has also been looking at the Vancouver market according to another source, and a deal has yet to be signed as finding space is a challenge given lease rates. Eataly has been looking primarily in the downtown Vancouver market and it is unknown if it will end up opening in the city. Retail Insider also interviewed Eataly founder and owner Oscar Farinetti in 2019 and at the time, he said that Montreal was also a potential target for a location if space could be found.
The Toronto Eataly location has proven to be very busy at times with its mix of grocery items, grab-and-go-food, Italian goods and three restaurants. Eataly was founded in 2003 and is now the largest Italian retail and dining experience in the world. It has 44 locations in 15 countries, including Italy, the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Sweden and Brazil. There are seven Eataly locations in the United States including street-front and mall locations.
