Family-owned Italian superstore, Mercato, is set to open a second location at the old Le Cornu site this year, bringing their Italian-centric style of living through fine food, wine and entertainment to North Adelaide.
“Mercato is a family business, and weβve been operating for over fifty years,” shared Managing Director, John Caporaso.
“It started as my parents providing fresh food to the Italian community, that’s who they connected with and a lot of their choices at the time were based around their origins. It was also a bit of a general store with everyday lines to cater for the basic needs of life as well.
“After hours when supermarkets were closed, they would reap the benefits of that and would sell to anyone who needed a loaf of bread or a carton of milk after five thirty, seven days a week.”
Since its founding in 1972, Mercato has grown into the ultimate everyday marketplace providing quintessential Italian household staples to the Italian community.
“These days we provide Italy to the general community. Weβve now tailored our offering to be Italy within the four walls in which we operate.
“It’s Italian-centric living. Mercato means market, and we are focused on the Italian way of life and the way Italians eat, drink, and live. Their approach to food and wine is not by having everything in abundance, it’s more about the seasonality, the freshness. It’s about whatever’s grown in the backyard or whatever’s caught off the closest coast.
“When you go to a market in Italy, you know you’re going to get a little bit of produce, seafood, cheese, and whatever’s been caught, picked, or put to rest on that given day.”
This is the ethos at the current Mercato location in Campbelltown and is sure to be seen at the new location on OβConnell St. At the current Campbelltown location, youβll find a bustling marketplace and a vibrant bar serving up authentic Italian coffee, house-made pastriesΒ classic Italian dishes.
The staples that have made Mercato a household name will carry over to the new North Adelaide location, alongside a strong focus on merging retail and entertainment.
“Itβs going to be brand new, but still have that authentic Italian market vibe.
“North Adelaide is going to focus on retailtainment. It creates a combination of retail shopping with entertainment, and that’s how we’re approaching the new location.”
Set to open in the middle of the year, you’ll find Mercato at the $300 million Eighty Eight OβConnell development. The former Le Cornu site is Adelaide’s largest privately developed project and is preparing to become a major destination in South Australia, with a lineup of dining, fashion, health, and lifestyle tenants.
Mercato
Where: 88 O’Connell St, North Adelaide SA 5006
When: TBC
For more information, click here.
For more information about Eighty Eight OβConnell, read more here.
More News
