From a booth back near the kitchen, Joe Migliucci presides over the restaurant his family has owned and operated for over 100 years. A family crest hangs over the door where his daughter Regina Miggliucci-Delfino greets customers. To her left is a series of paintings and pictures showing her grandparents and great-grandparents.

Mario’s Restaurant was named for Migliucci’s grandfather who moved from Harlem to Arthur Avenue 100 years ago in 1919, but its history does not start there. Mario’s started as a restaurant in Egypt in the 1800s and then moved to Harlem in 1915. Over the years the Arthur Avenue location has gone from just six tables to having an upstairs dining room, a side dining room and enlarged main dining room. It can now seat 300 to 400 people a day.