Porto's Bakery Opens In West Covina
WEST COVINA (CBSLA) — The newest, and possibly the biggest, Porto's Bakery opened Tuesday in West Covina, bringing its wildly popular pastries, potato balls and cheese rolls to the heart of the San Gabriel Valley.
The brand new bakery, built at the west end of the Plaza West Covina Mall, is easily visible from the 10 Freeway. The Cuban bakery, which got its start in Echo Park, opened large, brand-new bakeries and cafes in Downey and Buena Park and launched a nationwide pastry shipping service in recent years.
Porto's, which also has locations in Glendale and Burbank, is known for drawing so many customers on a daily basis, lines out the door are a regular sight. The bakery's huge volume of sales helps keep prices low, bringing even more customers through the door, according to Betty Porto.
"You gotta remember that we are a family owned and operated business," she said. "So the people that come to the bakery are family people, and our clientele are hard-working people, people that work every day, with an extended family," she said. "I want them to be able to enjoy our food and take it out."
When the Buena Park location opened in 2017, the line to get in snaked around the block on opening day, and the West Covina location is not expected to be any different. La Puente resident Larry Ford, who was first in line Tuesday, says he has waited too long to visit a Porto's Bakery.
"I worked in Glendale for 35 years near that location, and I was never able to go in because of my schedule," he said. "So I didn't know it, but I've been waiting 35 years for this one to open and I needed to be the first one here."
The West Covina location, at 584 S. Sunset Ave., opened its doors at 11 a.m.
