The owner Luciane was born and raised in Brazil. She left her hometown in the city of Porto Alegre in 1987 to live and travel around Europe. She then moved to Hawaii for two years, where she learned about and experienced a  healthy attitude towards life and food.  In 1995, Luciane opened Café Colonial in New York City. After 16 successful years, she declined to renew Café Colonial’s lease due to the increase on her rent, but opened Porto Alegre Café to continue to share her healthy cuisine with others.

Porto Alegre is inspired by the cafés of Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. The focus is on fresh ingredients, juices, vegetables, grains, organic milk, free-range chicken, farmed eggs, grass-fed beef, and locally roasted coffee.