Mark Antony AKA Marc Antonio, and Barbara Hill, owners of da Marco’s Gourmet Meats and Specialty Foods (da Marco’s), came upon a pivotal turning while visiting Mark’s family in Italy. Mark’s passion for sharing his talent and love for food with others grew and is now a reality through da Marco’s.
da Marco’s is patterned after small town Italian “mercato delle carni”. Mercato delle carni are family owned meat markets that serve to consumers’ demand for quality meats, salumi’s, cheeses and other specialty antipasti and ingredients for favorable meal preparation. da Marco’s is Mark’s way to pay homage to his Italian heritage and family and bring local, all natural ingredients that today’s customer seeks.
Faustina Bonvicini & Antonio Danese Wedding Photo C 1934
Mark’s grandparents, Antonio Danese and Faustina Bonvicini Danese (pictured to the left), are the inspiration from where Mark drew personal knowledge of food and food preparation. Growing up in Barletta, Mark’s grandfather’s family was known for their culinary creations. His grandparents developed a secret recipe for potato bread, spiced meats, Italian sausage, mozzarella, sauces and other delectable home cooked meals using local, fresh, high quality meats and other ingredients. Faustina (Mark’s grandmother) grew up in Northern Italy, in city of Bologna, in the province of Emilia-Romagna. It was here that she learned during World War I and World War II, how to pinch a lira, and create a feast, from whatever she could find. Every time Faustina came out of the kitchen, the entire community was ready to eat.
After a long career in the Italian Military, Antonio came to the United States. Antonio always had a love for food and it found the way to his heart. Shortly after settling in New York, Antonio accepted a position to manage a New York restaurant icon, La Trattoria Gatti. Antonio’s restaurant catered and hosted private events for Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Chuck Connors of the Rifle Man 60’s TV show. It was here, as a child that Mark appreciated that great ingredients make a great recipe, not only for meals, but for life.
As Historic Downtown Plano experiences a renaissance in its urban transformation, da Marco’s seeks to meld the “old world Italy” charm while catering to a market that demands fresh, high quality, local meat and specialty ingredients at great prices. As part of our penetration into the Plano and surrounding area, da Marco’s will promote, wholesale, retail, catering, and online sales to insure a cross spectrum of services for our customer base.
In addition to high quality meat products and deli goods, da Marco’s also offers homemade sauces, meat rubs, marinades and some ready to eat prepared foods that are all developed by Mark. The sauces and ready to eat foods use da Marco’s and other local ingredients. All da Marco’s products stay true to our core belief- great ingredients make a great meal; and when it tastes good; you feel good.
Mark and Barbara hope that our customers of da Marco’s will not only enjoy the traditional Italian ingredients but also the spirit of Italy that shall be incorporated into the da Marco’s experience generating a feeling of “Spirito Italiano”.