After years of long drives and lines, Inland Empire fans are getting their own Porto’s Bakery & Cafe. The Cuban-American bakery is bringing its yellow boxes to a new location in Ontario, located near Interstate 10. Slated to open in 2028, the new spot will be part of a new commercial development spanning 50,000 square feet across three buildings. Founded by Rosa Porto, the bakery opened in a Silver Lake strip mall 50 years ago.
Since then, Porto’s has expanded to six locations across Southern California. From Burbank to West Covina, lines tend to form out the door at each of the chain’s locations, with patrons ordering boxes of their signature potato balls, cheese rolls and other pastries. For many, that wait comes after a long commute. Beatriz Porto, an owner and vice president of Porto’s, said the West Covina bakery is the chain’s busiest, in part because devoted fans drive in from Temecula, Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga and beyond.
“They come once a week because they’re so far, or twice a week,” she said. “Now we’re gonna be on their doorstep.” Ontario City Manager Scott Ochoa approached the family about opening a location. The city says it had been working to land Porto’s for nearly a decade. The new site will have 500 parking spots, Porto said. “We just were lucky enough that we found a spot,” Beatriz Porto said.
The hardest thing about opening a bakery
“The hardest thing about opening a bakery is finding the right location.” Rosa Porto and her husband, Raul Sr., came to L.A. from Cuba in the 1970s and began selling cakes from home to neighbors and friends. By 1976, their home could no longer hold the business, and they opened a 300-square-foot shop on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park. Six years later, Porto moved the bakery to Glendale.
The chain grew to Burbank and Downey. Its Buena Park store, a 25,000-square-foot space that opened in 2017, became its first in Orange County. West Covina followed, then a 24,000-square-foot Northridge location. Rosa Porto died in 2019. Her children, Beatriz, Raul Jr. and Margarita, helped out as kids, and the three now run the business with the next generation. Over the years, Porto’s has widened its menu to meet shifts in its customer base, adding items like French-style mousses and guava and cheese strudels alongside Cuban classics.
A 2024 company press release said Porto’s draws 2 million customers a month. In 2016, the bakery took the top spot on Yelp’s list of the 100 best places to eat in the U.S. Porto’s also has plans to expand to the happiest place on earth. Disney filed demolition permits last year for the building that previously housed La Brea Bakery in Downtown Disney. The Anaheim site is slated to become the seventh Porto’s location in Southern California.
Despite earlier announcements that the bakery would open
Despite earlier announcements that the bakery would open in 2025, it hasn’t yet opened the Disney location. Beatriz Porto said the project is “a lot more complicated” and has been delayed due to construction issues. Still, she said, the family hopes it will open before the Ontario location. Porto’s also has found success outside its brick-and-mortar stores by shipping a selection of its unbaked pastries nationwide.
Before the pandemic, Porto said, the bakery averaged 100 orders a day. During the coronavirus pandemic, that number jumped to 1,000. Those hoping Porto’s will open in other states might have to wait. Porto says she and her siblings plan to keep the business rooted in Southern California. “That’s going to be up to the third generation,” Porto said. “I’m kind of old-fashioned, so I want to be close to the family.”
