Shortly after the appeal of Prohibition in the 1930's, Romeo Di Lallo, Sr. and his wife,
Molly,bothItalian immigrants, opened one of the first old-time nightclubs in New Mexico,
the "MonterreGardens."Less than two years later all was lost in a fire, so Romeo and Molly
had to start all over.
In 1938 after Romeo became ill with miner's lung disease (having working in New Mexico coal mines for a number of years), Molly opened ROMEO'S BAR on Bridge Street in the South Valley of Albuquerque. That same year their son, Romeo, Jr. was born. Romeo, Sr. passed away in 1946.
In 1947 Molly married a builder named Tony Simballa. One year later Tony built them a new and larger facility for ROMEO'S BAR, on Isleta Boulevard in the South Valley. In 1948 their son, Albert Simballa, Jr. was born.
