New York has become slightly more Tuscan this month with the opening of Mi Garba, a concept store of Tuscan food, design and lifestyle.
A welcome addition to the storefronts on Fourth Avenue just south of East 13th Street, the locale’s appealing modern design is very New York, but everything you’ll find inside, from the food and wine to the custom-made furniture, is 100% made in Tuscany.
Including the owner: the charismatic Andrea Tempestini met with us on a blustery winter’s day to tell us about his project. Dressed in a burnt orange wool blazer and matching orange watchband, he’s like a ray of Tuscan sunshine in the midst of East-coast slush. In some ways, he embodies his store: ‘I want people to come in here and find a bit of everything that characterizes Tuscany,’ says Tempestini.
A concept store of Tuscan food, design and lifestyle
Tempestini is a famous food family. Andrea’s grandfather, Armando Tempestini, opened a small gastronomia shop in post-war Prato that soon became renowned for his preparation of delicious spreads and sauces that he made fresh in the shop. His sons expanded the production of sauces, dips and toppers, founding Gastronomia Toscana in 1985 in order to be able to produce on an industrial scale.
Last year, Andrea set his sights on America, a country he’s held a fascination for since childhood. He took a cross-country road trip with a friend and found an enthusiasm for Tuscany—and for his fresh foods—among the American public. While everyone is familiar with imported dried goods or cheeses, few had tasted full, fresh dishes authentically prepared in Tuscany.
And so, Andrea set out to bring this fresh Tuscan food straight to New York, literally on a plane. Mi Garba became a line of products—the same ones Tuscans have been enjoying for decades—available at select supermarkets to the American public, as well as a concept store in New York.
But Mi Garba is much more than food, as Andrea explains: ‘Mi Garba is everything that is authentically Tuscan. You can come in here, have an appetizer and a glass of good wine, and read about where that wine came from.’ The attractive space is indeed rife with reading material, including copies of The Florentine.
A large map of Tuscany on the wall indicates salient points for food lovers—Bolgheri for the wine, Maremma for cinghiale—but also for culture lovers: Andrea wants people to know that marble comes from Carrara and the Palio takes place in Siena. He’s hired undiscovered artisans to display and sell their art in this space, and hand-selected books about Tuscan lifestyle that you can read while you nibble. For the true heart of the Mi Garba project is the embodiment of everything that makes Tuscany simply… Tuscan.
> visit MiGarba at 129 4th Ave, New York
