Melbourne has a new meeting and eating place with the opening of Il Mercato Centrale, an ambitious new Italian food hub on the western end of Collins Street. Open daily from 7am to late, 23 artisans sell their wares across three floors of the McPherson’s Building, an art deco edifice that was once Melbourne’s fanciest place to buy hardware. The rivets, nuts and bolts are long gone; now it’s ravioli, Napolitana and bonbons.
“It’s like Lygon Street in a single store,” said Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece at Thursday’s launch, in a pronouncement that may not endear himself to the Carlton portion of his City of Melbourne constituency. The upmarket food hall is the fifth Il Mercato hub and the first one outside Italy. Founder Umberto Montano launched the brand in Florence in 2014, and followed up with sites in Rome, Turin and Milan.
Collectively, they draw 12 million patrons a year. For this project, estimated to have cost more than $18 million, he has partnered with local entrepreneur Eddie Muto, an early player in Southbank and South Wharf eateries. “The vibe about food is very strong in Melbourne,” Montano told The Age.
“The standards are high because you have great ingredients, and you have passion.” The Il Mercato vision is to celebrate artisan food traditions. “The second pillar is that we host cultural activity connected with the society around it,” Montano said.
That means a packed calendar of events, including cooking classes, book launches and music p.