Malden Bakery Celebrates 110 Years In Business

MALDEN, MA — A longtime family-owned bakery is celebrating 110 years in business.

Mayor Gary Christenson recently joined former Mayor Richard Howard, family members, employees, and others for a cookout celebrating the 110th anniversary of Piantedosi Baking Co. Christenson presented the Piantedosi family with a city citation recognizing the milestone and commended the company for calling Malden home and serving as a community partner.

Piantedosi Baking Co. was founded in 1916 by Salvatore Piantedosi, an immigrant from Avellino, Italy. Piantedosi initially established a bread route, purchasing fresh bread from bakers in Boston's North End and transporting it by horse and wagon to customers in Everett. He became known as the "Midnight Baker" for delivering bread and pasta at all hours while building the business alongside his wife, Mary.

The couple eventually built a bakery on Main Street in Everett next to their family home. Their sons Carmine, Joseph, and John later joined the business, working alongside their parents before and after school and learning the bakery's operations from an early age. As the second generation assumed larger roles, the company expanded its product line to include pastries and moved into a larger facility in Everett during the 1950s as urban renewal affected its original location.

The business continued growing over the following decades before shifting its focus increasingly toward fresh bread as demand for pastries declined. By the mid-1970s, Piantedosi had outgrown its Everett operation and relocated to a larger manufacturing facility on Commercial Street in Malden. The move came as the third generation of the family took on leadership roles and the bakery expanded its presence in restaurants and other food service businesses throughout New England.

Piantedosi continued expanding during the 1980s and 1990s as the company entered the frozen foods market and began building a customer base outside New England. In 1995, the company opened a specialty division focused on partially baked products that also became home to its Research and Development Department.

The company is now operated by members of the third and fourth generations of the Piantedosi family. Younger family members have continued learning the business by working throughout different parts of the operation, including production, maintenance, sanitation, distribution, sales, and research and development. Several longtime employees have also spent decades with the bakery, helping pass knowledge of its operations to younger generations.

Today, Piantedosi operates from its facility at 240 Commercial St. and produces hearth and pan-style breads including Italian bread, sub rolls, burger rolls, dinner rolls and baguettes. The wholesale bakery supplies products to restaurants, sandwich shops, cafes, supermarkets, distributors and national restaurant chains, while also operating an outlet store at its Malden facility.

Joe Piantedosi hosted the recent anniversary celebration, bringing together multiple generations of the family and longtime employees to recognize the company's history. The milestone comes a decade after Piantedosi celebrated its centennial in 2016, when the family marked 100 years by honoring employees, customers, and business partners throughout the year.

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