The New York Post says Aldo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant in Queens, New York, was once a notorious hangout for mobsters. But the Ozone Park eatery’s new owner insists those days are long gone.

Besides, would Tony Soprano eat at a joint that doesn’t offer gabagool?

As its new proprietor, Sheik Ahsan Ali recently celebrated Aldo’s grand re-opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and other local dignitaries. Ali worked behind the restaurant’s counter for years before buying out the former owners.

But this iteration will get by without pork on the menu and zero alcohol on offer.

From now on, it’s all halal, all the time.

“We have a lot of immigrants, and not everybody is eating [classic Italian-American-style ingredients) because of certain things—like some folks can’t have alcohol,” Ali told the Post. “We have to change with the times.”

The Post paints a picture of Aldo’s as a former haven for mafioso gourmands, where alleged Gambino family crime boss Ronald “Ronny One Arm” Trucchio was supposedly a regular and even drew a salary of $72,000 before he was arrested for racketeering. According to the Post, “Vinny Asaro, who played a role in the 1978 Lufthansa heist that inspired ‘Goodfellas,’ was also known to frequent the joint.”

Manhattan D.A. Melvin Bragg had also reportedly investigated Aldo’s for illegal gambling and other suspicious goings-on, the Post reports.

But that’s not the kind of clientele Ali, who learned the dough craft from Aldo’s founder Aldo Calore and rose to the GM position there, is shooting for. 

“I did hear a lot of stories back in the days, but I have never encountered anything, being in this place for the past so many years, [like mob-related] activities or anything like that,” Ali told the Post. “There is no attachment of those people anymore.”

Minus the pork toppings and alcohol-based sauces, Ali still uses the same recipes Calore introduced at Aldo’s back when it opened in 1962. He simply wants to cater to a different demographic. “Muslims like Italian food, and the problem is that we can’t go out to eat because most Italian food is made out of alcohol, wines and stuff like that,” Ali said. “So I always wanted to open my own place where I could cater to all kinds of nationalities.” 

At the same time, he added, “I just didn’t want it to be limited to Muslim people only. I wanted to cater to everybody. That is why we took a lot of time to make sure all the meat to be substituted would taste the same.”

That means beef-based items like pepperoni and prosciutto that are nevertheless crafted to deliver the same taste as pork. “A lot of people say it tastes better than before,” Ali said.

Calore himself retired from Aldo’s back in 2014. Brothers Anthony and Joe Livreri then ran the shop before being evicted in December for failing to pay their rent, according to the Post.

Aldo’s is a member of PMQ Pizza’s Hall of Fame.

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