Porto's Bakery opens in Northridge

LOS ANGELES - The wait is finally over! The iconic Porto's Bakery and Cafe opened in Northridge Tuesday.

Dozens of people gathered for its grand opening  This will be the third Porto's to open in the San Fernando Valley, with locations in Burbank and Glendale. 

The new bakery is located in the outside plaza of the Northridge Fashion Center on Nordhoff St.

As soon as they opened, people were waiting in long lines up to an hour and even two hours at the most. The line wrapped around the block all the way from Nordhoff St. to Shirley Ave. 

"I think it's fantastic, we need something like this in the neighborhood. It's good for the economy, it brings a lot of jobs to people," said Cathy, a local resident. 

The Northridge location even has a new special pastry... a strawberry pistachio tart. According to owner Beatriz Porto, all of the strawberries used in their pastries are locally grown from farms in Oxnard and Santa Maria.  

"I like Porto's a lot, I've been getting it since I was little," said another person who waited two and a half hours in line. 

For the past few months Porto’s has been selling its freshly baked Cuban pastries at the Northridge Farmer’s Market, and every week a line wraps around their tent as people eagerly wait to get their hands on the goods. 

According to Porto’s president Raul Porto, a survey was conducted seven years ago to find the next Porto’s location. He says without hesitation, Northridge was voted into the number one spot. 

RELATED: Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet the family behind Porto’s Bakery & Café

Porto’s is a Cuban family-owned and operated bakery that has been around for roughly 40 years. Rosa Porto began her business in her house in Cuba. In the 1960’s she moved to California with her three children. Once settling in Los Angeles, Rosa continued baking and selling her delicious pastries.

It wasn’t before long that she finally opened her first bakery in Echo Park. Porto’s now has six locations. 

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