Since 2022, Il Mercato Centrale – the highly regarded Italian food hub with locations in Florence, Rome, Turin and Milan – has been readying its first location outside Italy.

Two years later, we finally have more details about the hotly anticipated Melbourne outpost, which will reinvigorate Collins Street’s art deco McPherson’s building when it opens on September 19, after a renovation estimated to cost between $18 million and $20 million.

Spanning three levels and with room for 3000 hungry punters, the cross-pollinating offering will centre around 23 local artisans, each with their own food or beverage specialty. The full line-up will be announced when Il Mercato Centrale opens.

“Unlike a food hub anywhere [else] in the world, Mercato is much more of a collaborative arrangement,” says director Eddie Muto, of hospitality group Barman & Larder, which operates venues Flour Child (St Kilda) and Left Bank (Southgate), as well as Metropolis Events and Q Events.

“Everybody is required to source ingredients internally,” says general manager Gary Patikkis. “If anybody needs bread, they’ll have to go to our baker ... We don’t want competition in our space.”

Street level is home to the “Italian market square”, where whatever food or drink catches your eye can be enjoyed there and then, or packaged up for you to take home.

“Every artisan has a rock star product,” says Patikkis. There’ll be a sourdough bakery milling its own flour; a pasticceria serving Italian baked goods such as shell-shaped sfogliatelle; an espresso bar using beans roasted in-house; and a piped-to-order cannoli station run by Cannoleria by That’s Amore.

“Mercato is all about transparency,” says Patikkis. “It’s about seeing everything live in front of you.”

Also coming: Roman-style pizza al taglio (by the slice), a mozzarella lab, a fruit-and-veg shop, a butcher and salumi bar, and a fishmonger – all of which you can peruse with a glass of wine in hand.

Upstairs on the first level, a plethora of dining and drinking options await. That includes a fine-dining Italian restaurant and a casual pizzeria – both bookable – as well as a cocktail and wine bar overlooking Collins Street, and a DJ booth overlooking the lower level.

Other stalls will spotlight Italian classics such as risotto, piadine (stuffed flatbreads), parmigiana and gelato churned in front of you. You’ll also find an on-site distillery as well as a stall serving smash burgers.

The second level will be a dedicated function space available for community and cultural events. It’s also where each artisan will host a free masterclass each month.

“The whole point of Mercato is to expose every part of the food process,” says Muto.

Il Mercato Centrale will open at 4pm on Thursday, September 19. It will trade from 7am to 10pm Sunday to Thursday, and 7am to midnight Friday to Saturday.

546 Collins Street, Melbourne, mercatocentrale.com.au