Owner of Wagga Oporto Rupinder Kaur serving the first round of customers at Wagga’s first Oporto. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
After years of waiting, Wagga’s first Portuguese chicken restaurant, Oporto, has officially opened its doors, and patrons have made their appreciation known with a huge turnout for the site’s first day of trading.
With requests on social media dating back as far as 2014, and development applications as early as 2022, no one was more excited and nervous about the store’s grand opening than owner Rupinder Kaur and her husband, Mandeep Singh.
“We’re doing whatever we can to make this opening as good as possible,” Ms Kaur said.
“We’re excited, we’re nervous, we’re a whole lot of different things.
“Personally, I’ve been waiting five years for this day, and I know there are plenty of others who have been waiting even longer.
“We have a great team who are all working hard, and a few other managers trained from other restaurants.”
Customers are waiting patiently for their orders. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
One of the new Oporto staff who formally made the shift from one side of Hammond Avenue to the other is Amy Borland, who said she is excited about the new position.
“We had a trial shift on Friday night, teaching some of the new staff about how to work in this kind of environment and how the registers work,” she said.
“It’s a bit weird moving from Macca’s on the other side of the street, but Pupinder and Mandeep are amazing, and it’s really exciting to be bringing a new type of food to Wagga.”
The new Oporto can be found at 143 Hammond Avenue, out the front of Anaconda. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
One of the first to try Oporto’s offering in Wagga was Jack, a young man who skipped school to be one of the first in line.
“I always get Oporto when I go to Canberra,” he said.
“I really like the Bondi burger, and whenever I see Oporto, I always order one. When I first heard about Oporto coming to town, I was so excited, but that was a few years ago. I’m just glad it’s finally here.”
Ms Kaur confirmed the store would be open from 9 am until 10 pm every day, including breakfast options.
“9 am to 10 pm, Monday to Sunday, every day,” she said with a smile.
“We hope to offer great food to everyone. We will always listen to ways that we can improve or get better. We learnt a lot from our first store in Lavington, and we’re glad we are finally here.
“If anyone comes in and they’re not sure about what to order, I would recommend the Preggo Chicken Rappa before it finishes at the end of the month.”
Oporto can be found at 143 Hammond Ave, next to Kickstart Expresso.
