When Raul Porto Jr. showed up at the Porto’s Bakery & Cafe in Northridge early Tuesday, April 12, long before the new site opened, he spotted about 50 guests waiting outside.
By the time the bakery opened its doors at 9 a.m., the president and son of the founder of Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, counted more than 500 people waiting in line.
“We always knew that we had a lot of customers in the area and that’s why we came here,” he said. “They showed up in masses.”
The reason the company chose the Northridge location, he said, is because about eight years ago Porto’s conducted a survey, trying to find out where customers were coming from to visit their Burbank and Glendale locations.
“We realized that the majority of people were coming from the (San Fernando) Valley,” he said. “For that reason, we said, ‘we need to open something in the Valley.’”
But it took them years to find the right location that would be near the freeway and had plenty of parking space, he added. The opening date was delayed several times.
“COVID just killed us,” he said, adding that the shipment of construction materials was delayed for months. “It was stressful.”
The Northridge shop is the company’s sixth site for the wildly popular chain of Cuban eateries, with other bakeries located in Downey, Glendale, Buena Park, West Covina and Burbank. Before opening the new site the bakery sold its Cuban rolls, croissants and cheese refugiados at the Northridge Farmers Market.
The news about the opening set off a wave of excitement on social media.
“Finally,” one Instagram user wrote. “I have literally been waiting for this announcement for two years.”
Another user wrote: “I will be there every day. I’m so excited you will be in my neighborhood.”
When it comes to the bakery’s success, Porto credited the company’s ability to connect with its customers.
“We have been around for so many years and bakeries have an emotional connection to people,” he said. “We made somebody’s wedding, birthday or graduation cake. That’s why they come out to see a new store. They are super happy with us.”
The Northridge location will offer the bakery’s iconic pastries along with some new items.
“In about a couple of weeks we are going to start doing Cuban dinner dishes,” Porto said, adding that the shop will begin offering chicken fricassee with roasted chicken and potatoes along with other new dishes and pastries.
“We are super excited and super happy to be in the Valley,” he said. “We’ve been trying to come out here for about six or seven years. We finally found a place.”