Eataly Boston Is 'Very Close' to Becoming a Reality

Back in early November, the Globe reported that Mario Batali and his team had been scouring Boston real estate for over a year to find a location for an outpost of Eataly, a giant complex that includes multiple Italian restaurants as well as cookbooks, groceries, kitchen goods, alcohol, and more. The Manhattan Eataly is 50,000 square feet, but they were looking for at least 30,000 square feet here, showing particular interest in Quincy Market and Back Bay. (UPDATE, 2/15/14: While multiple tipsters point to the Prudential Center, which

All has been quiet on the Eataly front for a few months, but Boston Restaurant Talk spotted a tweet from Batali earlier this week promising that they are "very close" (to securing a location, apparently).

Meanwhile, another recent post from prolific Twitter user Batali indicates that his first Boston restaurant, Babbo Pizzeria, should be opening in April.