Mario Batali products have been pulled from the shelves of Eataly one day after accusations surfaced against the owner of the Italian marketplace chain.
A company spokesperson confirmed to Eater that all products bearing the celebrity chef’s likeness — including sauces, pastas, olive oils, vinegars and books — would no longer be sold at Eataly. “This move is consistent with Mario Batali not being actively involved with Eataly,” said the spokesperson.
The Hollywood Reporter visited Eataly’s flagship location in Manhattan’s Flatiron neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed the Batali products were no longer available. Despite the products being pulled, however, the marketplace was still bustling per usual. Local New Yorkers and tourists alike crowded certain sections of the market and none of the customers who spoke to THR seemed bothered, with some even unaware, about the allegations against Batali.
On Monday, an Eater exposé detailed sexual harassment allegations dating back decades at the hands of the Food Network star and ABC TV host. The publication spoke to four anonymous women, who all claim Batali groped them without their consent, and two additional women have come forward since the story broke. Actress and comedian Siobhan Thompson told CBS News that Batali touched her breasts without her consent, and an employee at Batali’s famed Los Angeles eatery Osteria Mozza, Holly Gunderson, told The Washington Post that she was assaulted by Batali, whom she claims grabbed her crotch during a party in 2010. (Batali did not deny the claim.)
After the first wave of accusations, Batali apologized and announced that he would be stepping away from the day-to-day affairs of his businesses. Batali, who owns Eataly along with partners Joe Bastianich and his celebrity chef mother Lidia Bastianich, has a restaurant empire of 23 restaurants, five Eataly marketplaces and 11 cookbooks to his name. ABC also announced that Batali would be stepping away as co-host of daytime talk show The Chew, and Food Network put plans to revive his Molto Mario series in 2018 on hold amid the accusations.
Restaurants co-owned by Batali in New York Cits, including Lupa, Otto and Babbo, also took Batali products off their shelves on Tuesday, according to Eater. On Monday, Mozza owner and Batali’s partner, Nancy Silverton, said it was a “sad day in the restaurant industry” and that with Batali stepping aside from their restaurants, she would continue “to lead the restaurants as usual and remain focused on doing what we love — bringing people great food.”
Eataly has two locations in Manhattan, as well as markets in Chicago, Boston and a newly opened storefront in Los Angeles.
