Mrki, De Niro, and Astoria: The Incredible Story Behind a New York Street

One of the most famous streets from the cult American film A Bronx Tale has once again captured the attention of millions on social media.

A viral video compares a frame from the film, shot in the early nineties, with the appearance of the same location in August 2024. The buildings remain almost the same, the windows are still recognizable, but the signs and the people have changed.

And among them today, one familiar name is clearly visible: Mrki’s Place.

Although the plot of A Bronx Tale takes place in the Bronx, a significant portion of Robert De Niro’s film was actually shot in Astoria, Queens. At the time, the production adapted the streets to represent the Italian-American Bronx of the 1960s.

More than three decades later, that same location today tells a completely different New York story.

Located at 44-03 30th Avenue is Mrki’s Place, the long-standing restaurant of Mustafa Mrkulić, known as Mrki. Archive records show that Mrki’s Place has operated at this address since at least 2009, and over the years, the restaurant has become a well-known gathering spot for members of the Bosniak and Balkan communities in New York.

But the man behind the sign has a story almost as cinematic as the location itself.

Mustafa Mrkulić Mrki was born in Gusinje and moved to Sarajevo as a young man, where he began training seriously in boxing in 1976. He competed for Sarajevo’s Željezničar club and became the middleweight champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, winning all four of his matches in the championship by stoppage.

His greatest sporting idol was Muhammad Ali.

Years later, after Mrki had already arrived in New York, his childhood idol became a real person in his life. Mrkulić met Ali in New York and was present during the historic meeting between Muhammad Ali and the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, during the war years. This event was also noted in the testimony of former Bosnian boxer Almedin Fetahović.

And there is another incredible connection to the man who directed A Bronx Tale.

An earlier profile on Mrkulić recorded a story that Mrki once mistakenly kicked Robert De Niro out of his establishment, failing to recognize the Hollywood legend.

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