For connoisseurs of authentic Italian sweets and local history buffs alike, La Guli is a must-visit destination during your next trip to Astoria.  

The full-service pastry shop, located at 29-15 Ditmars Blvd., is replete with a charm reminiscent of another era, with its old-fashioned glass display cases showcasing row after row of mouth-watering delights ranging from cannolis and éclairs to cheesecakes and Italian butter cookies.  

La Guli also sells nearly 10 varieties of gelato such as tiramisu, pistachio and raspberry, and 11 varieties of Italian ice made fresh on the premises, said co-owner Maria Notaro. On a recent weekday afternoon, the store drew families with small children in tow looking to savor a gelato or Italian ice to cool off on a steamy summer day.  

It’s no surprise that passersby in search of a tasty treat should gravitate to La Guli. After all, the pastry shop, which was founded in Paolo Notaro, a native of Palermo, Italy in 1937, has had more than 70 years to perfect its recipe for authentic Italian desserts. La Guli is such an Astoria institution that the store predates many of the establishments in the neighborhood, said Maria Notaro, the granddaughter of the original founder.  

After working in a pastry shop in his native of Palermo, Paolo Notaro immigrated to the United States in 1923, settling in lower Manhattan. He opened two La Guli locations in Manhattan in the early 1930s, which were named for the most famous bakery in Palermo at the time, said Maria Notaro. Her grandfather added the prefix “La” to distinguish his business from the original Italian shop, she said.  

Paolo Notaro opened the Astoria location in 1937, the only remaining La Guli in the city today, around the time that Maria’s father Rosario was born, she said. 

“When he opened this location, Astoria was very rural,” said Maria Notaro. “His friends would tease him and say, ‘Who you gonna sell to, the ravens?’”  

Maria Notaro said her grandfather must have seen some potential in the neighborhood, with its prime location at the end of the W train. His prescience would later pay off. The family lived above the La Guli shop at a time when the neighborhood was primarily comprised of Italian, Irish and a few German families. They later witnessed the construction of nearby Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church on Ditmars Boulevard. Of the original businesses from that era, only two others remain in the neighborhood, she said. 

La Guli was entrusted to the care of several extended family members over the years, as the Notaro clan moved back to Italy several times, always returning to New York. The store remained in the family until 1994. It was then sold and passed out of the family for 11 years, until Maria Notaro, who was working in the technology sector of the travel industry at the time, suggested to her parents that they resume ownership of La Guli. 

La Guli has come full-circle, with Maria Notaro and her parents at the helm of the storied pasticceria. They work with a staff of 15 full- and part-time employees to provide the Italian and American pastries that Queens locals and natives have grown to know and crave. At 72-years-old, Rosario Notaro, Maria’s father, is very involved in the business, making gelato every morning, while her mother Concetta acts as her de-facto secretary, assisting with the upkeep of the business’s books.  

Along with their reputation for quality and adherence to tradition, La Guli is known for its cannoli, cannoli cakes, pignoli cookies, and sfogliatelle, which are puff pastries filled with ricotta cheese, said Maria Notaro.  

During the holidays, patrons flock to La Guli for its seasonal specialty cookies and biscuits. In honor of Halloween, La Guli makes a cookie known as the “Dead Bones,” which is made from honey and sugar and resembles a hardened marshmallow or skeleton on top. In November, in honor of the Feast of St. Martin, La Guli bakes special biscuits with fennel seeds that accompany the season’s first wine tastings, in accordance with Italian tradition. The Christmas holidays bring strufoli, or honey balls, which are made from puff dough and topped with almonds, honey and cherries and shaped like a Christmas tree. La Guli also imports panettone from Italy in time for the holidays, said Maria Notaro.  

The allure of La Guli’s sweets extends across geographic boundaries. Those who move out of the area e-mail the store and even place orders from destinations including New Jersey, Florida, California, Texas, and Nevada. Maria Notaro said that one customer from Las Vegas orders two-and-a-half gallons of Italian ice at a time that La Guli packs in dry ice to ship cross-country. The shipping costs alone range between $150 and $180, she said.  

“It brings them back to childhood,” said Maria Notaro, adding that it reminds customers of when they stood in line at La Guli after attending Mass or visiting with their grandmothers.  

Although La Guli has expanded its repertoire to include more American-style desserts than it offered when Paolo Notaro founded the store, many elements have remained a constant. Maria Notaro still relies on handwritten recipes books that have been passed down through the generations. The number of offerings has also expanded to include

36 varieties of butter cookies, 13 types of biscuits, 16 mini pastries, 25 different cakes and 30 types of large pastries, up from the four different pastries and 20 types of biscuits that her grandfather served, said Maria Notaro.  

What’s in store for the future of La Guli? Maria Notaro would like to “keep the business as successful as my grandfather had it,” without sacrificing quality for quantity.  

For more information about La Guli, visit the website www.laguli.com 
 

Recipe for Biscotti di San Martino (Courtesy of La Guli Pastry Shop) 

Biscotti di San Martino or Pan’ e vino San Martino – bread and wine of St. Martin - is a traditional biscotti served in Sicily on November 11th, the feast day of St. Martin.  Saint Martin is the patron saint of grape growers and his feast day coincides with the first tasting of the new wine.  These hard, bun shaped biscotti are made with clove, anise and fennel seeds and are customarily eaten by dipping them into sweet wine.    
 

Biscotti di San Martino 

Yield: approx 40  

½ lb. flour

1 package of dry yeast 

1.5 oz. of water 

In a large bowl, mix the above ingredients together, cover with a cloth, place in a warm area, away from any drafts and let raise for a couple of hours. 

Mix the following in a large bowl:

1.25 oz of sugar

1.25 oz. of shorting

1.5 lb flour

1.25 oz. of water

Pinch of cinnamon, clove and a tablespoon of fennel seeds 

Add first mixture to second mixture, cover, place in a warm area and let rise again.