Angelo’s on Mulberry, the 115-year old Little Italy icon, has suffered a difficult set of years. Between a 2018 fire that injured 13 people and a permanent closure during the 2020 pandemic, the legendary restaurant has had a cloudy, uncertain future. Thankfully for locals concerned about the integrity of Angelo’s, plans are finally in place to reopen the restaurant under new management.
Angelo’s will officially reopen as Casa Di Angelo, preserving the Angelo’s brand identity while signaling the new direction of ownership. Described as a “family restaurant and pizzeria that offers authentic, homemade Italian food”, Casa Di Angelo will attempt to preserve as much of the original Angelo’s appeal as possible.
Casa Di Angelo will be operated by B E F Restaurante Inc, which is owned by Iyad Hamsho, Farhod Gadoyboev, and Bruno Branceleone. Farhod also operates H & M Restaurant at 163 Mulberry, while Iyad operates Zia Maria Little Italy. Together, the team has decades of experience operating Italian restaurants and is well-suited to take over the beloved restaurant.
Established in 1902, Angelo’s has been serving Neapolitan and Italian-American food to locals for over a century. Attracting well-known fans like Ronald Regan and Kobe Bryant, Angelo’s was certainly a neighborhood staple that locals were sad to say goodbye to. When a fire broke out in the space in February 2018, Angelo’s suffered a series of setbacks that would culminate in their permanent closure by 2020. While Angelo’s still operates a few sister restaurants in cities across the country, this was the only location in New York.
With so much history in the building, Iyad and his team are stepping into some seriously big shows. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for the team given their experience in the industry. With over 4,800 square feet of space, Casa Di Angelo will be quite expansive. Preserving as much of the original signage and architecture as they can, Iyad and the team want to ensure that none of the building’s storied history is lost during the transition.
