A few years after its doors shuttered, a beloved South Boston coffeehouse is staging a comeback—this time with a new name, a full kitchen, and a direct connection to the bowling alley next door.
On Monday night, Java House sparked excitement with an Instagram teaser featuring a pizza-holding parrot logo and the caption, “‘If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.’ Hope to see everyone soon!”
The coffeehouse first opened at 541 E Broadway in the 90s and quickly became known for its extensive lineup of flavored coffees, along with pizza, pretzels, pastries, and more. After closing temporarily in 2020 during the pandemic, its future remained a frequent topic of Southie speculation.
Owner John Tunney, who also operates Southie Bowl right next door, has confirmed that the café will officially return as Java House Pizza, a combo pizza-and-coffee concept designed to serve both the neighborhood and the bowling alley. “We’re taking what used to be an old coffeehouse and turning it into a fully functioning commercial kitchen that will do takeout and feed the bowling alley,” he told What Now Boston.
The idea for the dual-concept setup took shape during the pandemic, when food-service requirements for liquor licenses forced the bowling alley to serve food, something it wasn’t fully equipped to do. “We were using a little oven,” Tunney explained. Customers loved the pizza, but demand quickly outpaced their setup. “People would say, ‘I want six of them,’ and we didn’t have the ability to make six.”
Over the past few years, Tunney has slowly built out the new kitchen, and he recently cut a connecting doorway between the two spaces. Java House Pizza will operate from the former Java House storefront, offering a variety of family-friendly favorites like pizza, chicken fingers, and fries. The new setup will also allow the team to cater birthday parties, large gatherings, and events without relying on outside vendors.
While there will still be plenty of coffee on the menu, it won’t include the extensive flavored lineup the original shop was known for, as rising costs have made those offerings harder to sustain.
Java House Pizza is aiming to open in the coming weeks, pending final construction and permitting. “We’re pretty far along in the process, but there are always a couple more boxes to check,” Tunney said. With bowling season in full swing, he hopes to roll out a pared-down menu soon, then expand service as the alley slows down in the spring.
