There's a food market in North Dallas that's like a secret find for shoppers seeking Italian victuals.

Called Olio & Olive, it's an online gourmet store specializing in high-end Italian gastronomic products — with a retail outlet located off the beaten path at 14217 Proton Rd. It's a minimalist space, open Wednesday-Friday from 1-6 pm, featuring shelves stocked with olive oil, crackers, tomatoes, pesto, antipasti, sauces, truffle products, pasta, cheese, vinegar, olives, candy, and chocolates.

The store is a unique addition to Dallas' Italian market scene, alongside institutions Jimmy's Food Store in East Dallas and Eataly at NorthPark Center.

"We call it a showroom,” says Marco Filippi, who founded Olio & Olive in 2004 with his wife Gaia Guidi Filippi. “It is not a typical grocery store or a shopping center, but more boutique."

Olio & Olive started out as a warehouse based in California, fulfilling mail orders and servicing L.A. restaurants seeking cured meats, Italian cheeses, and other rare specialty goods. The Filippis relocated from Los Angeles to Dallas in 2014.

"We moved here for the business and to live, and I am very glad we did it," Marco says. "The cost of living there was very high and we saw a growing market in Dallas."

Marco is a native of Italy who's able to leverage his connections to European suppliers, expanding his pursuit of unique offerings by attending trade shows in Italy. Gaia, who recently founded Dallas-based interior design company Gaia G Interiors, grew up in the business: Her Italian-American family owns Guidi Marcello Ltd., a longtime import, wholesale, and Italian market in Los Angeles.

The store's allure lies in its deep bench of hard-to-find treasures: Castelvetrano olives, Caciocavallo Irpino cheese, chestnut spread, and chocolates by Caffarel.

"We get unusual requests, like someone who wanted to buy raw olives," Marco says. "Unless you have an olive tree in your backyard, you aren’t going to be able to acquire something like that."

About half of Olio & Olive’s business comes from wholesale and service to restaurants, which range from mom and pops in Venice, California to Las Vegas resorts. The other half of its commerce is online and retail, which brings one back to the on-the-ground chase for specialty cravings.

Among the top sellers on the retail side is their private-label line of fresh frozen ravioli, with fillings such as butternut squash, braised short rib, five-cheese, and mushroom.

The benefit of having a retail outlet is that customers might come in for one thing and learn about another.

“They see the products on the website and appreciate when they come here and see something unique,” he says.