Eataly, the vast Italian food and drink emporium on Bishopsgate, stayed stuck in the red last year as it grappled with the impact of strikes, staff shortages and soaring food and energy costs.
Latest accounts for Eataly Retail UK Ltd show a pre-tax loss of almost £1.3 million in 2022, though that was down from £4.8 million the previous year.
Turnover rose by almost half from £17.25 million to £25.04 million.
The giant food hall — the first of its kind in the UK — fully opened in May 2021 with five restaurants and bars and a range of food and drink counters in its retail “market”, after delays caused by the pandemic. It first set out plans to open in London back in 2017.
According to the accounts the company suffered “impacts related to labour strikes and lack of qualified employees, which together with some delay in restaurants opening, had a negative impact on sales and the company’s performance The increase of raw material cost and energy prices also had a negative effect.”
As of the end of 2022, Eataly had 291 employees.
The 42,000 square foot site in the City is billed as the “UK’s largest Italian food emporium”. It includes a butcher, fishmonger, cured meat counter, bakery and “cheese laboratory”.
There are 40 Eataly locations across the world, in countries such as the USA, Brazil, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as Italy. The first location, in New York City, opened in 2010.
