RIVER NORTH — Eataly is closing its upscale Baffo Ristorante, saying the eatery isn't "capturing the Chicago diner as intended."
The River North food hall will close its ground-floor restaurant at 44 E. Grand Ave. after May 29, an Eataly spokeswoman said.
"While we are incredibly proud of the product and the service we provide in Baffo, our guests have shown us that they are simply more interested in what we offer in other areas of Eataly," the spokeswoman, Cristina Villa, said in a statement.
The white tablecloth restaurant debuted in 2013 with house-made pastas and imported ingredients from the grocery upstairs. Baffo quickly went under renovations, though, to make the decor "feel like more of a home," Eataly executives said then. Baffo is Italian for "mustache," nodding to the facial hair of Eataly's founder, Oscar Farinetti. Though owned by Eataly the restaurant was not connected to the grocery and had a separate entrance.
Eataly, a massive multi-floor Italian food hall at 43 E. Ohio St., rents the space it occupies, and Villa forwarded questions about the Baffo storefront's future to landlord Macerich Co. A Macerich spokeswoman didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. Eater first reported the closure Tuesday.
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