Meet Smita Daya of Olea Oliva! in Marietta, East Cobb

Today we’d like to introduce you to Smita Daya.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After having worked in corporate for over 25 years, I decided it was time to follow my true passion for healthy eating. For the past 29 years, our journey has taken us to various countries where we became enthralled in the world of oils and spices. Living and travelling abroad has allowed us to explore the finest in savory spices, gourmet oils, and seasonings from home, charming ourselves and our daughters along the way. Now a family tradition, every home-cooked meal incorporates different oils and spices, enticing our taste buds with exciting new flavors.

Life is full of wonders, and we are fortunate to have lived next to an amazing Italian family (the Calamai family) for 16 years. Our lives changed when we were introduced to freshly pressed olive oils, straight from the Cantina. We grew to love fresh oils and continue to further expand our palate with gourmet olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and spices. We had the privilege to visit the Calamai family several times in Romola (near Florence), Italy and were fortunate to visit the Cantina, where the olives are first pressed. That did it, we were in love!

We appeal to those adventurous in the kitchens that are looking to discover new tastes, unique flavors and healthy cooking while entertaining family and friends. We strive to share our passion with you in our store and online as we promote a food culture driven by nutrition, education, and excitement. I love to partner with the community and local business owners and help empower individuals to make sound healthy choices. We offer cooking workshops in the store and private venues.

My husband, Dilip Daya is also a certified Olive Oil Sommelier from University of California-Davis at Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Sciences, together with 8 years of experience from Florence, Italy with the Calamai family. In addition, he is also an Industrial Chemist.

Has it been a smooth road?
Since we opened our doors we’ve received so much amazing support from the Marietta and Atlanta community and local community business partners. These are our champions, our friends and the people who share our mission to spread the word about cooking real food with quality ingredients and amazing flavor combinations.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Olea Oliva! is a Gourmet Spices, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar taproom with a focus on health and wellness. In a world where fast food and convenient foods devoid of nutrients have become the norm, we feel that offering people simple and quick cooking tools and techniques is more important than ever. Our passion is sharing our spices, oils and balsamic vinegars with you and getting people excited about cooking. With two daughters and a business to run we know how hard it is to plan freshly cooked, flavorful healthy meals every day. For us, these spices, oils and balsamic vinegars have changed the way we eat! Our products make creating flavorful and healthy family meals easy and fun.

The shop’s design, atmosphere and sampling options turn shopping into an adventurous experience. At Olea Oliva! we’ll inspire you with new ideas and tantalize your taste buds as you sample products at your leisure or receive advice on product use and recipe ideas from our friendly and knowledgeable staff. We offer Salads in a Jar classes with a focus on plant based whole foods nutrition as well as offering healthy cooking workshops. We have been blessed to do these at the local senior centers and churches. Community development and partnering with local businesses is very important for Olea Oliva! Dilip and I are both passionate and love to teach and empower individuals to make sound healthy choices.

We love the growing community of regular patrons – and the opportunity to serve them. We think of Olea Oliva! as a little store with BIG heart. Getting to know and understand our customers has been a rewarding experience.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, we believe a store like ours is very beneficial to the area. We are very unique in that we are not only an olive oil store but we also promote healthy clean eating with a focus on how to use the super spices with the healthy olive oils.

There is a lot of research that goes into this and having some kind of background in this industry is always a plus!

Contact Info:

• Address: Olea Oliva!
  The Avenue East Cobb
  4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1000
  Marietta, GA 30062
• Website: www.oleaoliva.com
• Phone:  (770) 321-0099
• Email: info@oleaoliva.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oleaolivamarietta/

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.