The Little Italy of Pinecrest Italian market has been open less than a year, but its success has owner Giuseppe "Joe" Zuozo planning to open two more of the unique little stores within the next 12 months.

Giuseppe "Joe" Zuozo opened Little Italy a year ago.

"I think we’ll open one in West Kendall later this year and then another in Coconut Grove, probably next year," Zuozo said.

Zuozo, 45, was born in Naples, Italy, and immigrated to New York 15 years ago. He came to Miami in 1990 to open the successful Anacapri restaurant, located just two doors away in the South Park Shopping Center, 12665 S. Dixie Hwy. He and his wife, Maria, their children, Andy, 22, Giuseppe, 7, and Annette, 5, live in the West Kendall area.

Zuozo said his difficulty in finding authentic Italian products to supply the needs of his blossoming restaurant operation was the primary reason he opened Little Italy of Pinecrest.

"I couldn’t find a good Italian market, so I said to myself, ‘I guess I’ll have to start one.’"

Shopping at Little Italy is relaxing and fun. You can have a cup of espresso and browse the numerous aisles filled with Italian products. The imported olives are displayed in bowls and you may scoop your own order into a plastic container.

The Little Italy interior is divided into separate rooms where specific categories of merchandise are displayed. The "Generilimenti" is where the general merchandise such as bottled olive oils, vinegars, tomato products and pasta is kept.

"We have low end to high end," Zuozo said. "We have Italian jams and jellies, Italian spices, pasta, long ziti, extra long spaghetti, a variety of whole wheat pasta, pastini for soups. We even have bottled Italian water and cookware manufactured in Italy."

The "Latticini" holds the cooler where a broad selection of Italian cheeses are displayed, including Auricchio provolone and Galbani mascarpone, used for making desserts.

The "Salumeria" holds a wide variety of cold cuts, salami and prosciutto, though most are from Canada because of U.S. import restrictions.

There’s a freezer for gelato, or Italian ice cream, with such tasty flavors as tiramisu, pistachio, hazelnut, berry, peach and coffee, and the coffee section offers a good variety of Italian brands, such as Cafe Diamante, LavAzza and Buon Gusto.

And, if you like Italian wine, you’ll enjoy browsing the "Enoteca" area of Little Italy. There are more than 3,000 bottles in the wine room ranging from a very good Villa Masetto for $8.95 to a Massetto Toscana for $139.95 a bottle. About 75 percent of the wines are from Italy with the rest from California.

Little Italy also imports frozen bread dough from France, bakes it here as needed, then bags and sells fresh French bread.

"We also make our own pasta and package and sell it fresh," Zuozo said. "And, of course, we sell our Anacapri pasta sauce."

Check out Little Italy at Pinecrest, where shopping is a delight. For more information, call 305-255-2521.