Opening at the Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Branch with a “dining specialization” concept
Signature menu featuring state-of-the-art charcoal oven
Centralized open kitchen and new multi-course menu
“Expanding specialized stores optimized for each area”
Hyundai Green Food announced on August 27 that it will open an Eataly store on the 10th floor of Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Branch in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on August 28.
Eataly is an Italian culinary space in the “Grocerant” format, which combines a grocery store and a restaurant. There are currently 69 stores in 15 countries around the world, including Italy, the United States, Canada, and Japan. In Korea, Hyundai Green Food has been operating Eataly stores since 2015, starting with Hyundai Department Store Pangyo Branch, followed by The Hyundai Seoul and Jungdong Branch, operating a total of three stores.
The PDR Room, a dining-specialized Italian store opening on the 10th floor of Hyundai Department Store Trade Center branch. Provided by Hyundai Green Food
The new Eataly store opening this time will occupy a 690㎡ (approximately 209-pyeong) space and feature a restaurant (102 seats) and a cafe (52 seats), with a total of 154 seats. Hyundai Green Food is presenting this store under the concept of “dining specialization.” For this reason, it has introduced the Spanish-made charcoal oven “Josper Charcoal Oven,” a top-tier cooking appliance, for the first time. The Josper Charcoal Oven is typically used in high-end hotel restaurants and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments. By using only charcoal, it can rapidly raise the internal temperature to between 350 and 500 degrees Celsius, allowing for both grilling and smoking at the same time.
Signature dishes will include 10 charcoal-grilled menu items, such as T-bone steak and tenderloin steak, grilled shrimp that have been enhanced through wet aging and dry aging, and smoked-flavored pasta (Cacio e Pepe). In addition, a traditional Italian course menu will be offered, progressing from amuse-bouche (bite-sized appetizer) to salad, fresh pasta, main dish, and dessert.
Another distinctive feature is that the open kitchen, which used to be placed against the wall in previous stores, has now been positioned as an island in the center of the store. The number of wood-fired pizza options has also been increased from 8 to 20. To meet demand from group customers, the number of private dining rooms (PDR) has been expanded from roughly one per Eataly location to a total of five rooms (three for 8 people, one for 10 people, and one for 24 people).
The in-store cafe has been expanded by 50% in size compared to previous stores, in order to accommodate light business meetings and tea time. The cafe and bakery menu has also been increased from 47 items by an additional 45 items, resulting in a total of 92 menu options. The grocery section, which previously offered around 800 types of Italian food products such as pasta and tomato sauce, will now operate as a gift-specialized store, featuring about 250 selected items, including 200 for business gifts and 50 types of wine.
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Jongpil Lee, Executive Director and Head of the Restaurant Division at Hyundai Green Food, said, “The dining-specialized Eataly store is a tailored location that brings together the know-how accumulated from operating Korea’s longest-running grocerant, Eataly,” adding, “We aim to continue leading dining trends while steadily expanding specialized stores optimized for each commercial district.”
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