The oldest Jewish bialy and bagel shop in New York City is being saved from closure by two Muslim cab drivers, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

Cab drivers Zafaryab Ali and Peerzada Shah decided to take over Coney Island Bialys and Bagels after hearing it was on the verge of closure, for they had a great sentimental connection to the store, the report said.

Open gallery view A taxi traverses past a newsstand in New York, October 29, 2011. Credit: Reuters

After emigrating from Pakistan to New York 16 years ago, the first bagels and bialys Ali and Shah ever tasted were at Coney Island Bialys and Bagels, they told the New York Daily News.

"I felt I had to save this store" said Ali, 54, who worked for the shop for 11 years before leaving to earn a higher salary as a cab driver. He had worked at the store under the management of Steve Ross, grandson of Morris Rosenzweig, said the report.

According to the report, Rosenzweig, a Jewish immigrant of Bialystok, Poland, founded Coney Island Bialys and Bagels in 1920, and his recipes, which he brought over from Poland, have been satisfying customers ever since.

When asked by the New York Daily News how they felt about the geopolitical divide between Muslims and Jews, the new storeowners said such politics were irrelevant. It doesnt matter, answered Ali, I make food for everyone.

I dont even think about it, Shah, 47, told the New York Daily News. I just look at this as a business opportunity.

The two will continue making 95-cent bagels and flat, oniony bialys, using the old kosher-certified equipment, said the report, which added that they have refreshed the shop with new floors and walls.

Ross told the New York Daily News that he was pleased to pass on his family business to Ali and Shah. Id like to see them flourish because theyre making a product that my grandfather brought to this country.

