Three is the magic number for Smith Restaurant Group’s pizzeria/dance club brand, Porta, where “the door is always open.”
In 2011, Smith opened the first Porta in the heart of Asbury Park, helping spur the revitalization of downtown. A year later, Porta opened a second location in Jersey City. Now they are moving farther north, bringing their brand to Montclair.
“Montclair is such a diverse area, and that’s exactly what Porta is all about,” says Arielle Horneck, COO at Smith.
The new Porta space, which opened in late February on Bloomfield Avenue, the main artery in downtown Montclair, took the space formerly occupied by Montclair Social Club. Horneck has been spearheading the project and is looking to continue the expansion of the Porta brand.
When did you get started with Porta?
Arielle Horneck: I started with Smith Group in 2010 and moved over to be a host at Porta in Asbury Park when they first opened. From there, I got involved in all kinds of positions in the restaurant and fell in love with the brand and company. I went to culinary school in Manhattan and returned right before Covid. I oversee the operations in Montclair and work with new hires and the full team.
Why did you choose Montclair as your next location?
A developer in Montclair reached out to our team, and we really fell in love with the area. It’s such a great community. What we do at Porta is open and continuously build and expand. We are always evolving.
What can guests expect from the new location?
There is a second floor as well as a basement level, but for now we only have the first floor open, which we refer to as the Monk Room. The top floor will be our communal dining space with room for about 225 people, and the basement will be smaller, opening in late spring. We will be open for lunch, brunch and dinner seven days a week.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m excited to be a part of the Montclair community and expose Porta to a bunch of new people. We’re all about having a little bit of something for everyone at Porta. We will be doing events such as DJs, drag queen shows and we plan on doing a lot of LGBTQ events at our space.
Are you still looking to expand?
Yes! Porta is a place and brand that attracts all different kinds of people and communities. We try to make Porta as approachable as possible to guests and it’s a great place to bring to different communities. The feedback in Montclair has been nothing but incredible, so it’s exciting to see what’s to come at Smith and Porta.