A new bakery stall inside Boston Public Market is putting a Brazilian spin on classic French pastry, and it's already outgrowing its space. Reis Bakery, run by Parisian-trained pastry chef Gustavo Reis, opened at the market in July, offering croissants, pain suisse, petite tarts, choux au craquelin, pecan financiers, croque monsieur, and pão de queijo sandwiches priced between $3 and $10.
Reis trained in pastry at École Ducasse in Paris before opening his own stall, according to The Boston Globe. He also holds a chemistry degree, a background that dovetails with the technical precision École Ducasse emphasizes in its French Pastry Arts curriculum, which focuses on classic laminated doughs alongside pastry business management, per École Ducasse. The institution was established by multi-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse.
From Chocolate Entremets to His Own Stall
Before launching his own venture, Reis made entremets for Parlott Chocolatier, an artisanal Brazilian chocolate stall that opened at the market in May 2024 and was founded by Brazilian native Lucilene Parlott, according to the same account. Boston Public Market managers were impressed by the entremets Reis created for the market's chocolate shop, which helped pave the way for his own stall. Reis credited that groundwork for his fast start, telling the Globe, “It's a nice community here. They really helped me to open fast.”
That kind of rapid turnaround follows a familiar pattern at the market. Boston Public Market runs an incubator-style vendor program with six-month minimum leases, through which it has helped 12 small food businesses expand into larger stalls, according to Boston Public Market. Reis is following that same trajectory: he plans to move Reis Bakery into a larger stall within the next month, the bakery told the Globe, a shift that would provide more counter and baking space.
Brazilian Flavors Meet New England Sourcing Rules
Reis Bakery will incorporate guava, dulce de leche, passion fruit, and canastra cheese into some of its French pastries, and the lineup is set to expand further with the addition of French macarons. The pão de queijo sandwiches lean on a much older tradition: the cheese bread originated in Brazil's Minas Gerais region and relies on naturally gluten-free tapioca flour harvested from cassava root, which gives the bread its crisp crust and chewy interior, according to Chef's Pencil.
But building a Brazilian-French menu inside the Boston Public Market comes with a catch. The market operates under a formal mandate requiring that all food and artisanal goods sold across its more than 30 year-round vendor stalls originate in or be produced within New England, per Boston Public Market. That rule shapes how Reis sources his ingredients, leaning on fellow vendors rather than importing goods from outside the region.
He incorporates espresso from George Howell Coffee, spices from Curio Spice Co., and apple juice from Red Apple Farm into his pastries. Curio Spice Co. established its permanent stall at the market in May 2024 as an expansion of its flagship North Cambridge store and operates as a mission-driven B Corp specializing in ethically sourced spices, per the Boston Sun's coverage of the market. Red Apple Farm, meanwhile, is a Phillipston orchard that runs a farm stall and cider bar as one of the market's founding vendors, according to Boston Public Market.
A Market Built on the Big Dig, Feeding a Growing Brazilian Community
The market itself has deep roots in Boston's urban redevelopment. Opened in July 2015, the 28,000-square-foot indoor Boston Public Market sits on Parcel 7 of the Big Dig project at 100 Hanover Street, directly above MBTA Haymarket Station, according to the Mission Hill Gazette. The ground-floor space sat vacant for years before being repurposed into the regional food hall it is today.
Reis Bakery's arrival also lands in a state with deep Brazilian roots. U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2020 Census shows Massachusetts is home to 25.3% of the nation's Brazilian-alone population, the highest concentration of any state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A separate October 2024 study from Instituto Diáspora Brasil and The Boston Foundation identified Brazilians as the single largest immigrant population in Massachusetts, with an estimated population exceeding 140,000 statewide, per GBH News.
Reis Bakery joins a rotating cast of food stalls at the market, which hosted a three-day harvest celebration last month spotlighting its regional vendors, and has also seen turnover, including the closure of its lone bar earlier this year amid a liquor license dispute. Whether the bakery's coming move to a larger stall will bring room for full-scale baking equipment on-site remains to be seen, but for now, Reis is focused on building out his menu one croissant and pão de queijo at a time.
