Lifelong Bronx resident Mario D’Agostino had a large impact on Throggs Neck, including business ventures like Miles Coffee Bar and Muscle Maker Grill.
In June, D’Agostino passed away from colon cancer at the age of 40. Hoping to keep his name alive, his widow Nicole Angelico launched a petition on Oct. 11, to have a street renamed after him. So far, it has 1,370 signatures.
“Mario invested into the borough he loved,” Angelico said in the petition. “He transformed an entire block on East Tremont into a true destination! A place to be. Muscle Maker – a place where people from the neighborhood could go for a good, healthy meal. The Miles Coffee Bar, a unique coffee shop that brought so many people together and gave them a chance to see his vision.”
Angelico, a New Jersey native, recalled how she commuted to New York City for eight years until she decided to move north. It was around that time when her best friend introduced her to D’Agostino and the rest was history.
She explained how her late husband managed restaurants in Scarsdale and Westchester, but he always wanted something close to home. That desire brought him to open up the first Muscle Maker Grill in New York at 4041 East Tremont Ave., which he operated for 10 years.
But Miles Coffee at 4039 East Tremont Ave was his baby. She recalled how they used to frequent coffee shops in Brooklyn and Manhattan and he always dreamed of having one in the Bronx.
When Miles opened in 2016 it was a dream come true. It soon became a staple in the community. People not only knew of Miles, but D’Agostino had garnered quite a reputation.
“Miles Coffee was very near and dear to my husband,” she said, adding that her husband loved the Bronx and wanted to do so much more for the borough.
Today, his widow is not only maintaining her full time job as a vice president of operations for a beauty company but is also running Miles Coffee.
She told the Bronx Times that having a street renamed after him would be mean a lot following his sudden death.
“He really left his mark,” Angelico said. “I’m really humbled by all the signatures and comments people have made. The block is so beautiful because of the changes that Mario made.”
On Oct. 14, the Municipal Services Committee of Community Board 10 discussed the renaming in front of the full board.
Marjorie Velazquez, chairperson of the committee said she first met Mario when he opened Muscle Maker Grill. Velazquez said she fully supported honoring D’Agostino with a street renamed after him.
“He was well known,” she said. “He was so successful with the first business that he opened up the coffee shop afterwards. It was just very beautiful what he was able to accomplish. He was a man who just cared.”
