Oporto Holdings Pty Ltd is an Australian fast food restaurant franchise with a Portuguese theme. Oporto specialises in Portuguese style chicken and burgers. It is owned by parent investment firm PAG Asia Capital, which also owns the Red Rooster and Chicken Treat restaurant chains.
Oporto has more than 200 eat-in or take-away restaurants in Australia and New Zealand. It previously also operated stores throughout China and expanded to Sri Lanka and Vietnam in August 2018. Oporto is also looking to expand its operations into the Middle East; its Dubai store opened in early 2020.
Founding and history
Oporto's first restaurant was founded in 1986 by António Cerqueira, an Australian of Portuguese descent, in North Bondi, New South Wales, Australia, but was originally named Portuguese-Style Bondi Charcoal Chicken. The 'Oporto' name came from Cerqueira's favourite football team, FC Porto. The second location was opened in Maroubra Junction.
The franchise right was sold, but António Cerqueira kept the original store, with the second store becoming a franchise store later. The event that led to the closing of original store (on the hill at Bondi) began after the franchise opened a store in Bondi Junction, with the original owners having exclusive rights to the suburb of Bondi.