New Jersey is the absolute center of ethnic food in the entire Northeast. There’s nothing you can’t find here, but what we’re most proud of is our Italian food.

That’s why there are so many Italian specialty stores in New Jersey. For example, I recently discovered Uncle Giuseppe’s, an amazing superstore full of all things Italian.

That actually led me to a visit to Pastosa, another Italian deli that New Jerseyans are all raving about, but I never thought I’d see the day when we’d have an Eataly.

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Yes, Eataly is coming to New Jersey. It will be the first Eataly in New Jersey. Back in February, I wrote about the chain’s expansion plans when they first announced they would open in the Short Hills Mall.

However, no opening date had been announced at the time. So it was up to us to keep watching the news to see when the big day would come. And now it’s here. The first Eataly store in New Jersey opens at The Mall at Short Hills on Wednesday, November 13 at 3 p.m.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones who don’t know what it is, Eataly is an Italian marketplace with an array of restaurants, cafes and food stores. It was founded in 2007 in Turin, Italy, and now has offices in major cities around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Istanbul.

In January 2007, Italian businessman Oscar Farinetti opened Eataly’s first location in Turin. It has been described by The New York Times as a “megastore” that “combines elements of a bustling European open market, a Whole Foods-style supermarket, an upscale food court and a new age learning center.”

The Short Hills Mall location will offer a variety of restaurants and cafes, including a pizzeria, pasta bar, meat and cheese shop and ice cream shop. There will also be a retail area selling Italian groceries, cookware and tableware.

Visit the Italy website.

The opinions expressed in the above post are solely those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco.

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