At 3 a.m., Bova’s Bakery is still an option. So is 6 a.m., lunchtime, or whatever hour you finally decide that dinner should have included dessert. The family-run bakery at 134 Salem Street operates around the clock, selling Italian pastries, bread, and savory food at the corner of Salem and Prince streets.
Bova’s reached its 100th anniversary in 2026. At an August 18 celebration, the family handed out free cannoli and Mayor Michelle Wu helped serve them. A century in business deserved cake, too, and there was one of those.
But you don’t need an anniversary to go. The useful thing about Bova’s is that it accommodates both people finishing their night and people starting their day.
Bova’s Bakery began with bread
Antonio Bova, an immigrant from Calabria, Italy, opened A. Bova & Sons Bakery in 1926. His first shop was at 79 Prince Street, before the business settled into its present Salem Street location.
The early operation required considerably more work than arranging pastries in a display case. In the North End Regional Review’s centennial report, granddaughter Vicky Kluse recalled that Antonio collected empty peach crates from Haymarket to fuel the bakery’s wood-burning stoves.
Kluse recalled supplying bread to Anthony’s Pier 4 and Jimmy’s Harborside, and pizza for games at the Fleet Center.
The family still shares the workload. Kluse described a rotation in which different branches of the family manage the bakery for six months at a time. Keeping it in the family has involved an actual schedule.
Why the doors stay open overnight
The overnight hours have roots in bread deliveries, rather than people leaving bars.
In a 2024 interview with Boston.com, longtime manager John Kluse explained that distributors needed staggered pickup times because the surrounding streets were so narrow. He credited that arrangement with the bakery obtaining its 24-hour license.
Those hours also suited workers finishing shifts when other food businesses were closed. The bakery’s audience grew beyond its wholesale customers, and its menu changed with them. Bread was followed by a period of deli service and an increasing emphasis on pastries and prepared food.
There have been exceptions to the schedule. In March 2023, Bova’s temporarily closed for filming of The Instigators, starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.
Start with the Florentine cannoli
The Florentine cannoli gives you a specific reason to choose Bova’s beyond its opening hours. Its shell is a thin almond cookie wrapped into a tube and filled with sweet ricotta.
During WBUR’s 2023 visit to the bakery, baker Jojo Bova demonstrated the process: portions of dough were flattened, baked, and shaped around a wooden peg while still pliable. Once cooled, the shells hold their shape and can be filled.
That distinction matters when ordering. A Florentine shell has almonds and a different texture from a traditional fried cannoli shell. Bova’s makes its Florentine shells in-house; during that same interview, the family explained that its traditional shells came from a Boston-area wholesaler.
The family recipes haven’t prevented additions to the case. Jojo also described flavors including crème brûlée, Nutella, salted caramel, and pistachio. Being an old bakery doesn’t require selling only what your great-grandfather sold.
You can get dinner here, too
The savory selection includes calzones, pizza, and subs, alongside sweets such as lobster tails, éclairs, cheesecake, and tiramisu. That makes Bova’s useful when half your group wants dessert and the other half hasn’t eaten.
Eater’s bakery guide also points to arancini, stromboli, sfogliatelle, and the bakery’s chocolate mousse brick. The arancini give you a rice-filled option if you have already committed to something sweet in pastry. Check the case before ordering for a group; the person who asked for “anything” might have meant dinner.
If you have a particular pastry in mind, ask what’s available before committing to a box. Open all night doesn’t mean every item stays in stock all night. Kluse told Boston.com that the labor involved in making Florentine shells limits how many the bakery can produce at once.
Find Bova’s at 134 Salem Street, at Prince Street, in Boston’s North End. It’s a practical stop after dinner, before work, or after a night out. If you came for one cannoli and leave carrying tomorrow’s breakfast, at least the morning is handled.