The family-owned spot (MEKK is the first letters of the couple and their children's first names) focuses on ensuring guests enjoy themselves.
The Pellumbis are originally from Albania but have traveled extensively throughout Europe. Dolce Italia is their version of their most loved cafes in Albania, Italy and France, where they would sit for hours enjoying coffee, food and conversation.
While they have fallen in love with Arizona since moving here in December 2023, the Pellumbis missed this kind of place. So they decided to open Dolce Italia.
"It's the place where you find your peace and your joy," Elvira Pellumbi says.
Dolce Italia is located just south of Roosevelt Row on the northwest corner of Second and McKinley streets. It opens early to serve coffee and pastries, which can also be purchased throughout the day and night. The menu also includes plenty of lunch and dinner options.
Pellumbi's background is in finance and accounting. However, cooking is her calling.
"I left everything for cooking because it is my passion. All day, all night, I can invent recipes," Pellumbi says.
Those recipes make their way to the pastry cases, next to the two chocolate fountains behind the front counter. Customers can choose from dark chocolate or pistachio chocolate, each with their own fount, to top fresh strawberries.
The cafe's beautifully adorned interior features colorful ceiling tiles and silk flower-encased columns. A bright pink telephone box, also covered with flowers, makes for the perfect photo op. A generous patio surrounds the dining area, which is encased by expansive glass walls.
The use of silk flowers is inspired by Pellumbi's hometown in Albania.
"My birth city is Permet, it's called the city of flowers," Pellumbi says, describing the abundance of flower fields. "With roses there, we make syrup, we make water, we make perfumes and we make jam."
The roses also inspired a dessert at Dolce Italia: a rice pudding made with rose petal jam and rose water. The entire batch sold out in one hour.
The cafe's menu leans toward Italian cuisine but also reflects the family's travels and favorite foods.
Customers can enjoy fresh homemade pasta, pizza and heavily topped focaccia for lunch and dinner, ordered at the counter. There are also a multitude of pastries, such as brioche, croissants and all kinds of cake, available throughout the day.
Dolce Italia offers many traditional coffee drinks, such as espressos and cappuccinos, as well as bottled sodas. Their most popular item overall is their tiramisu. At any given time, customers can find various flavors, from the traditional coffee to strawberry, pistachio or limoncello.
Dolce Italia offers sweet and savory options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snacks.
Melissa Pickering
"We have mostly U.S. suppliers. But of course, the Raclette cheese we need to import from Switzerland because it's best. The Prosciutto di Parma you need to take from Italy," Pellumbi explains.
Herbs for their flavorful dishes are grown on site.
"Everything is very authentic, very simple," Pellumbi says.
Menu items vary depending on what fresh ingredients the Pellumbis can find. Overall, the Pellumbis want their customers to feel welcome and enjoy their experience.
"The most important thing for us is the joy when they try the food, they like the food. We want everyone to be happy, that is very very important for us," Pellumbi says.
They welcome guests to stay and enjoy themselves for as long as they like. The cafe stays open late, until 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The Pellumbis' children, who are 13 and 14, also spend time helping at the cafe and are adjusting to life in Phoenix.
"They are loving the life here and the schools here. For them, it's like a dream," Pellumbi says.
Like so many other immigrant families, the Pellumbis have managed to create a living for themselves while becoming a key part of the Phoenix community.
"We love the people here. We are very, very thankful because we have found a love here that we can't imagine. We are very grateful," Pellumbi says.
