Wholly Cannoli – Closed
With its crunchy shell and creamy filling, few treats are tastier than a cannoli. But at a little bakery in Central Massachusetts, the classic cannoli is just the beginning. Because here, they’ve gone cannoli crazy.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “We are at Wholly Cannoli, in Worcester Massachusetts. You'll be amazed when you come in here.”
Located on Grafton Street, Wholly Cannoli is a local legend for creative, colorful, craveable cannoli.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “We have over 50 flavors of cannolis, and pretty much everything is revolved around cannolis.”
In fact, owner Rich Elia claims to have the largest selection of cannoli on the East Coast, and for more than twenty years, people have flocked here from all over to try ‘em.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “They come from everywhere. People drive from Boston, Rhode Island, New York, they come here to Worcester, for our cannolis. We make the best cannolis, we have the best variety of cannolis. I think everybody is always on the search for who makes the best cannoli. Because I know they come in here they always say we make the best cannoli.”
Choosing your cannoli here can be challenging. Fortunately, Rich makes them in regular and mini sizes so you can sample more of the selection, from the classics like Plain and Pistachio, to the more creative like Oreo, Caramel Fudge Swirl, and Snickers.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “Everyone loves a Snickers, right? So we put peanuts and caramel, and that's one of our best selling ones actually.”
When it comes to cannoli, those are just a small sampling of the selection, but Rich says the real secret to what makes them all so good is the filling.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “It’s made with ricotta cheese, we use Impastata Ricotta. And it’s how you mix it. We have a nice smooth texture to our cannoli filling, which makes it the best.”
And that filling is used for so much more than just cannoli.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “Anything you make with cannoli filling is better. We have cannoli cupcakes, cannoli cakes, cannoli cookie sandwiches. Whatever we put cannoli filling on, it’s just better with cannoli filling.”
So a classic Chocolate Chip Cookie is taken to the next level as a Cannoli Cookie Sandwich.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “It’s a chocolate chip cookie. We make our own cookies here. And then we fill them with cannoli filling, and then we roll them in chocolate chips. So it's a chocolate chip cookie cannoli sandwich. They’re to die for.”
And so is the Chocolate Caramel Cannoli Cake, featuring layer upon layer of sweetness.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “That is our most popular cake we do. It's layers of chocolate cake, cannoli filling, caramel, there’s chocolate Italian cream, chocolate ganache, with buttercrunch, really decadent, really delicious. It's our most popular cake that we have here.”
So there’s cannoli, and cookies, and cakes. But of all the sweet treats at Wholly Cannoli, one truly rises above the rest. The uniquely delicious, devilishly decadent, explosively amazing creation known as the Dynamite Stick.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “It’s the ricotta cannoli filling, we have caramel in it, and it’s enrobed in a chocolate crunch shell. So when you bite into it, it has that crunch and then you get the gooey caramel, with the cannoli filling. It’s really really delicious.”
That might be the understatement of the century. Chocolatey. Crunchy. Fluffy. Creamy. Gooey. Savory. Sweet. All in one glorious treat. There really is nothing more mind-blowingly delicious than a Dynamite Stick.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “Everybody loves them. There's just there's not one person that doesn't love the Dynamite Stick. People go crazy for them. It’s a unique flavor, it's its own dessert, there’s nothing like them, they’re rich and decadent, and you can only get them here.”
In fact, the Dynamite Stick is so popular, Rich created miniature versions -- called Dyno Bites -- in flavors like Peanut Butter, Raspberry. and his personal favorite, Hawaiian.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “That’s one of my favorites actually, because it's not as heavy. It's kind of light and refreshing. It has pineapple in it and coconut, and it's in a white chocolate pineapple crunch shell. It's almost kind of like a pina colada actually.”
Beyond the sweets, Wholly Cannoli makes all kinds of savory stuff too, like Sheet Pan Pizzas and amazing Meatball Subs.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “We make our own meatballs, my own recipe. Our own sauce. We make the best meatballs. I know everyone thinks they make the best meatballs, but we make the best meatballs.”
And according to his customers, Rich makes the best everything.
Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: “The people love the product, I see the same people coming back plus new people all the time, it's in my heart and soul, you know, it's what I do.”
