OSCAR FARINETTI was born into a family of artisanal food producers in the Piedmontese town of Alba, famous for white truffles and red wines. My surname, he said, comes from the Italian word for flour because my ancestors have always been pasta makers. His father expanded the family pasta shop into a grocery store and it eventually began selling items other than food as well. When Mr. Farinetti, now 53, entered the family business in 1978, he focused on electronics and turned the former grocery store into Italys biggest electronics chain, UniEuro. He sold it in 2003 and returned to the food business, but in a much less humble way. In January, in what had been a defunct vermouth factory in Turin, he opened a 30000-square-foot megastore called Eataly that combines elements of a bustling European open market, a Whole-Foods-style supermarket, a high-end food court and a New Age learning center. Eatalys goal, Mr. Farinetti said, is to make high-quality Italian foods available to everyone, at sustainable prices and in an informal environment where they can shop, taste and learn. Similar stores are planned for major cities throughout Italy, but first, New York. In the spring Eataly will open in a two-level, 10000-square-foot space in the new Centria building at 18 West 48th Street. Mr. Farinettis partner in this venture is Jules Demchick, the president of JD Carlisle Development Corporation, which owns the building. In the Turin original the main floor consists of eight specific ...