Boston could be getting its own version of Eataly, celebrity chef Mario Batali's wildly popular Manhattan food emporium that combines restaurants and a vast gourmet market to recreate the bustling experience of an Italian piazza.

The Eataly concept was introduced in Turin six years ago by businessman Oscar Farinetti, who partnered with Batali and others to bring a 50,000-square-foot megastore to New York in 2010. About seven million people visited the Manhattan marketplace in its second year of operation, an Eataly spokeswoman said.

The partners, who are slated to open the even larger Eataly Chicago this month, say they've been scoping out Boston real estate for more than a year in search of another potential home for the Italian market.

"We think Boston would be a great city for Eataly," said Adam Saper, a managing partner who handles development and finance for the operation. "We'd love to do it sooner than later, but it's a matter of fitting it in and wanting to do it the right way."

Read more

Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com