When Guy Raoul, a French chef and his brother Serge, a TV journalist, opened up a bistro in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood 50 years ago, they didn’t just have to worry about making rent; they also faced mafia demands for protection money, their scion said.

It was a different world back then. The streets were often deserted, the buildings vacant. It was dangerous, and people sometimes disappeared, Serge Raoul’s son Karim Raoul told Side Dish this week.

Mob enforcers often dropped by the French eatery, Raoul’s, to demand payments from the duo.

When the restaurateurs refused to pay up, the mobsters bombed the business, he recounted.

Luckily, only the windows were damaged and “people kept eating” their dinner inside, said Karim.

After more attacks, the journo partner, Serge, got a bright i

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