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Founder Of Popular Porto's Bakery And Cafe, Rosa Porto, Dies At 89

GLENDALE (CBSLA) — Rosa Porto, founder of the popular Porto's Bakery & Cafe, has died, the family announced. She was 89.

In an Instagram post, the family said:

"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of ‪‪Porto's Bakery‬‬ founder and Porto family matriarch, Rosa Porto. She passed peacefully yesterday at the age of 89 surrounded by her loving husband and family."

The post went on to say that Porto passed away peacefully over the weekend.

Today, Porto's is a multi-million dollar business known for its Cuban delicacies like potato balls, meat pies, and flakey pastries with five locations in Glendale, Burbank, Downey, West Covina and Buena Park and announced plans to open a sixth.

According to family lore, Porto began selling homemade baked goods from an underground location in her native Manzanillo, Cuba when the country fell to Communism in the late 1950s and continued after the family emigrated to the United States in 1971.

In addition to her husband and three children, Porto is survived by seven grandchildren.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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