Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexa Dombkoski.
Hi Alexa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Glenside, PA. My dad was in the restaurant business and eventually opened his own restaurant in Philadelphia and I spent my childhood listening to stories about my grandparents adventuring around Europe with their food and wine group back in the 70s and 80s (back before it was cool and everyone could post about their trip on Instagram!). Looking back, I think food, wine, and travel were always part of who I was going to become.
I went to the University of Pittsburgh, and studying abroad in Florence changed everything. I fell completely in love with Italy, and two weeks after graduation I was back trying to make a life for myself at 22 years old without knowing the language or even really where I would work or stay! I spent the years that followed working in restaurants and tourism, until COVID hit and I found myself unemployed for nearly two years.
That was when the idea for Bellemille came to me. It was the perfect way to build a bridge between my two homes, my adopted home of Florence and my hometown back in Pennsylvania. It also brought me full circle to my upbringing, with a restaurateur dad and a family who was passionate about food, wine, and travel.
I started with a small shipment of olive oil, mostly to friends and family, to see what would happen. They sold, people came back for more, and it slowly grew from there. Our oil comes from a single estate in Tuscany, a blend of Frantoio, Leccino, and Moraiolo olives pressed fresh each harvest and shipped to the U.S. From the start, I wanted Bellemille to feel like more than a bottle of oil. I wanted it to capture the Italian way of living slowly and gathering around the table, with packaging beautiful enough to leave out.
Today Bellemille is sold on our website, through retail partners, at markets and tasting dinners, and as corporate gifts. The line has grown to include a truffle salt and we’re working toward a small Italian pantry collection. I still run it all myself (with help from my mom), from the groves to the packaging to the markets, and I love that every bottle carries a little piece of Tuscany into someone’s home.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all, and I think anyone who runs a small business would say the same. Bellemille started at one of the most uncertain times of my life. I had been unemployed for nearly two years during COVID, so I was building something from nothing, with no safety net and no roadmap.
I’m also a team of one, and for most of Bellemille’s life I’ve been working another job alongside it to make it all possible. Days are long, and there’s always more on the list than there are hours to do it. It’s taught me to be intentional about where I spend my energy, to lean on the partners and mentors I’ve found along the way, and to grow at a pace that feels sustainable. It isn’t always easy, but every time a customer tells me Bellemille has become part of their table, it reminds me why it’s all worth it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Bellemille is a woman-owned brand bringing single-estate Tuscan extra virgin olive oil to American tables. Our oil comes from one family estate in Tuscany. It’s a blend of three native olive varieties, Frantoio, Leccino, and Moraiolo, harvested and pressed each fall and shipped to the U.S. while it’s fresh. We work in seasons, not warehouses. Each year’s oil opens with a preorder right after the harvest, and when it’s gone, it’s gone until the next one.
What sets us apart is that we know exactly where every bottle comes from. There are no blends from multiple countries and no oil sitting in storage for years, just one estate, one harvest, and the people who make it. I also wanted Bellemille to look as good as it tastes. Every detail, from the wax seal and embossing to the marbled Florentine paper, is designed so the bottle lives on your table instead of hiding in a cabinet.
Over time, Bellemille has grown into a small collection inspired by Italian slow living and the ritual of aperitivo. Alongside our olive oil, we now offer a black truffle salt, and more Italian pantry staples are on the way.
What I’m most proud of are our tasting dinners and events throughout PA. Bellemille was always meant to be a bridge between my two homes, and these evenings are where that feels most real. There’s nothing like bringing something I love from Tuscany back to the people I grew up with. Friends, family, and neighbors gathered around one long table, sharing a slow meal with a great chef and talking about where the food on their plate comes from. One that I am especially proud of is the recurring tasting dinner we host at Davio’s, the restaurant my dad manages today. Working with him on those dinners and watching him welcome people to a table set with Bellemille brings everything full circle.
What I want readers to know is that Bellemille is about more than olive oil. It’s about slowing down, gathering the people you love, and bringing a little bit of Tuscany to your table, wherever that table happens to be.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think it’s pretty clear I’ve always been a risk-taker. The first big one came two weeks after I graduated from Pitt, when I packed up and moved to Florence. I didn’t have a detailed plan, just a feeling that this was where I was supposed to be. More than a decade later, I still split my time between PA and Florence, Italy and almost everything good in my life traces back to that decision.
Starting Bellemille was the next big leap. I had been unemployed for nearly two years during COVID, and investing in a business with no guaranteed income meant putting a lot on the line.
But I take big risks in small pieces. I started Bellemille with just a super small shipment of bottles, sold them mostly to friends and family, and let the business show me what came next. Every year still begins with a risk, because I commit to a full harvest’s worth of oil each fall before a single bottle is sold. I just make sure each step is one I can learn from, so the next one is a little smarter.
People tend to think of risk as the thing that could go wrong. I think the quieter risk is staying comfortable. Playing it safe has a cost too, it just doesn’t show up right away. It shows up years later as the life you didn’t try. I would much rather have a few things that didn’t work out than wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed where it felt safe. The moments I’ve bet on myself are the ones that have shaped my life the most.
Pricing:
- $42 extra virgin olive oil
- $24 truffle salt
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bellemille.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellemilleitaly/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bellemilleitaly/
