Spencer Michael Collins IV, who is from Boston and lives in Los Angeles, said he flew across the country hoping to meet Damon and Affleck.
He and other onlookers who hope to watch Filming lined Prince Street Wednesday morning.
“Can my dog be an extra?” a man walking his little bulldog asked a member of the production crew as he walked by.
This isn’t the first time Bova has appeared on the big screen. The bakery was also featured in Fever Pitch starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, and in What’s Your Number starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans.
Meanwhile, Damon and Affleck They were spotted while filming At a fire station in Cambridge Street the same morning.
Among the observers outside Bova was Paul Devlin, 23, who took the commuter train from Tewksbury and rearranged his work schedule to spend the day watching the production.
“I got my spot early, because I thought it was going to be a big crowd,” said Devlin. Arrived at the North End at 8:50, drank coffee, and went straight out of Bova. “I remember reading about how the owners have been kind of concerned about closing for some time. … It makes sense that they’re nervous because there’s a lot of competition between bakeries.”
During the lunch rush on a Tuesday afternoon, a line spilled out the door of Modern Pastry in the North End. Across the street at Mike’s Pastry, a group of elementary school field trip students sat on the floor in a corner while their attendant waited for the order and chatted with other customers.
Only one of the three famous northern cannoli regions was devoid of patrons: Bova.
“If anyone asks me where to go in the North End, I say Buffa,” said Matthew Giloy, a North End resident and loyal customer of Buffa’s Bakery. He said the lockdown could be an inconvenience but there were other options.
“I don’t recommend the other options — I think Bova is the best,” said Giloy. “But it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
Although Bova did not tell The Globe was concerned about closing the bakery, and supporters felt the publicity from the film would ultimately be good for business.
“When you make something unavailable to people, it makes them want to go further,” Collins said. Everyone will You want to come here now.”
It was also speculated that the production company might be paying the bakery well for the problem.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, when we come back, they get some promotions,” Collins said.
Production trucks were the only vehicles plying nearby streets Wednesday — road closure signs on Salem and Prince Streets diverted cars down narrow alleyways.
A Mike’s Pastry employee told the Globe on Tuesday that production cars for the film were occupying parking spaces, but North End resident Kay McCarthy, who also planned to wait hours outside Bova to watch the shoot, said the timing of the road closures minimized the disruption.
“Prince Street is very popular,” McCarthy said, “but I think the hours are perfect.” “Lots of people at work and at night it gets crazy busy here.”
McCarthy agreed that shooting the film would be financially beneficial to Bova.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some new curtains,” she said.
Correction, March 22, 2023: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story misstated the name of the Matt Damon and Casey Affleck movie. It is called “agitators”. The world regrets the mistake.
Sonel Cutler can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @employee.
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