La Guli Pastry Shop is a clean and humble-looking Italian bakery on Ditmars Boulevard.  Inside, everything looked delicious, including the Italian Ices. Behind the counter Spanish workers kindly took orders from customers who casually walked in for a refreshing Italian Ice. One worker, who looked like she was in her middle forties kindly shared with me her positive impression of the neighborhood. As we talked, pedestrians came strolled in to buy a cold and refreshing Italian Ice to cool down on a warm Saturday afternoon.

Images taken by Y-Lan Nguyen 

An Italian immigrant opened the shop in 1937 with his brothers. His son and granddaughter currently manage it and use the same recipes that were used in the 1930’s. The store front, shelving, an woodwork have all been preserved throughout the years. One distinct change is that customers now include people in the continental United States who order fresh baked goods online. Also, because Astoria has seen multiple waves of new immigrants since the 1930’s, the local customers have changed and today likely also include Spanish and Greek people.

Find out more at laguli.com