 | |
| Portillo's | |
| Company type | Public |
| Nasdaq: PTLO | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast casual |
| Founded | April 9, 1963; 62 years ago (1963-04-09) inVilla Park, Illinois[1] |
| Founder | Dick Portillo |
| Headquarters | Oak Brook,Illinois, United States |
Number of locations | 94[2] |
Key people | Michael Miles Jr. (InterimCEO) |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$517 million (2021)[3] |
| Owner | Berkshire Partners (72%) |
Number of employees | About 6,000[4] |
| Website | portillos |
Portillo's Restaurant Group, Inc.[5] is an Americanfast casualrestaurant chain based in theChicago area that specializes in serving Chicago-style food such ashot dogs,Maxwell Street Polish, andItalian beef. The company was founded by Dick Portillo on April 9, 1963, inVilla Park, Illinois, under the name "The Dog House".
In addition to 46 locations in theChicago metropolitan area andNorthern Illinois, the chain also has six locations each in thePhoenix metropolitan area and theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex; four locations each incentral Illinois and theIndianapolis metropolitan area; three locations each in theMinneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area,Tampa metropolitan area, andGreater Orlando; two locations each in theMilwaukee metropolitan area,Madison metropolitan area,Metro Detroit, andSouthern California; and one location each in theSouth Bend metropolitan area,Metro Atlanta,Fort Wayne, theQuad Cities, andTucson.
Portillo's was founded in 1963 by Dick Portillo.[6] After returning from serving inthe Marines, Portillo gathered money from his savings and an investment from his brother Frank to open ahot dog stand.[7] They bought a 12-foot trailer that had no restroom and no running water. They named it "The Dog House".[7] The Dog House operated on North Avenue inVilla Park.[8] At first the stand lost money and a solution was needed. Portillo snuck into one of the back rooms of a competitor and wrote down where they were purchasing their product.[7] He continued the process of learning by visiting different competitors. By 1967, The Dog House, now in good financial standing, was upgraded to a larger trailer and was renamed "Portillo's".[9] In 1970, he partnered with Harold Reskin and opened up his second location in a shopping mall that Reskin owned.[7] Between 1972 and 1989, he opened up a second restaurant under the name "Barney's" that specialized in BBQ meals. In 1983 Portillo's opened up its first drive thru inDowners Grove.[10][failed verification] In the 90's Portillo's had profited by more than $50 million with 25 stores around the Chicago area.[7] In 1993, he experimented with a few ideas by combining his concept stores Barney's and Barnelli's with a Portillo's restaurant. In 1994, the first Portillo's within Chicago city limits opened at the intersection ofClark and Ontario St.[7][11] In 1995, Portillo opened Key Wester Fish & Pasta House in Naples, Florida.[7] In 1996, Portillo brought the Key Wester Fish & Pasta toNaperville. In 2000, Portillo opened another concept restaurant called Luigi's House.[7] The Portillo's chain grew again in 2010 with Honey-Jam Café.[12]
In 2014, Portillo sold Portillo's toBerkshire Partners. The new owners are planning to open five to seven restaurants each year. Portillo has been buying the land for new sites, which he then leases back to the company.[4]
The company filed to go public in 2021.[13] Its initial public offering sold 28% of the company as stocks traded on the Nasdaq as of October 21, 2021, with private equity firmBerkshire Partners retaining the remainder of the ownership.[14]
In April 2025, the chain began serving a limited-trial breakfast menu at six of its Chicago-area restaurants. Items included a Polish sausage, egg and cheese sandwich and a chocolate cake doughnut, topped with its signature chocolate cake frosting.[15][16] In May of that year during Italian Beef Month, the chain announced "The Leo" available that month. Named for Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a native Chicagoan, after he was elected the first-ever Americanpope and took the namePope Leo XIV, it featured the beef "baptized" (dipped extra) in its juices. Br. Joe Ruiz, a student of Pope Leo's who lived with him for a year, said in a WGN-TV interview that the Pope's favorite cake is the restaurant's chocolate cake.[17][18]
In September 2025, shortly after Portillo's announced a "strategic reset"[19] of the company's financial targets, Michael Osanloo stepped down as CEO. Michael Miles Jr., Portillo's board chairman, stepped in as the Interim CEO.[20]
Portillo's had licensed restaurants inTokyo, Japan, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Japanese locations all eventually closed.[21]
Portillo's first California location opened on October 11, 2006, at theBuena Park Downtown shopping center inBuena Park. The second California location opened in 2008 inMoreno Valley.
Portillo's opened its firstFlorida location in 2016 in the Tampa suburb ofBrandon, Florida, and a second location that same year in theUniversity Square neighborhood in Tampa. The chain generated publicity with a tongue-in-cheek open letter on its website on June 16, 2015, the day after its hometownNHL team, theChicago Blackhawks, beat theTampa Bay Lightning to win the 2015Stanley Cup. The stunt received newspaper coverage in both cities. "It's official. Portillo's is coming to Tampa in 2016. Tampa residents spent years peppering us with requests to build a restaurant—you really put us in a pickle. So we're thrilled we're finally making our way to Florida," Portillo's letter said, showing the chain's ironic humor. "Let's be frank: No matter whose jersey you're wearing, everyone will be welcome. We hope you don't have a beef against us or our hometown team."[22] The locations in Tampa and Brandon have a 1930sProhibition theme.[23]
TheMinneapolis-St. Paul region's first location opened inWoodbury in mid-summer 2017. Shortly thereafter in early fall 2017, the chain's first restaurant in theIndianapolis metropolitan area commenced operations inFishers.[24] Many former Chicagoans have moved to both regions. In 2018, Portillo's opened its second and third restaurants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (Maple Grove andRoseville, Minnesota)[25] as well as its third and fourth Indiana locations (Mishawaka andIndianapolis)[26][27] in 2018.
Portillo's opened its first restaurant in theMadison, Wisconsin, area and in theDavenport, Iowa/Quad Cities area (the first location in Iowa) in early 2019.
In March 2021 Portillo's opened a new location inSterling Heights, Michigan, inMetro Detroit, which was the first location withinMichigan.[28][29] Its second Michigan location opened inLivonia in July 2024.
Portillo's announced a new location in the Orlando, Florida, area, located at the corner of Palm Parkway and Daryl Carter Boulevard inLake Buena Vista; it opened in June 2021.[30]
In December 2021, Portillo's submitted plans to build a new restaurant at Santan Village inGilbert, Arizona.[31]
In April 2022, Portillo's opened their fourth location in Florida, located inSt. Petersburg, featuring a '50s theme, and is their third in the Tampa metropolitan area. A location in WestKissimmee, announced the same month, is their second in the Orlando area, and fifth overall in Florida. In December 2023, the sixth Portillo's in Florida, and third in the Orlando area, opened inClermont.
In January 2023, Portillo's opened its first location in Texas. It is located in theDallas Fort Worth Metroplex suburb ofThe Colony, at the intersection ofSH 121/Sam Rayburn Tollway and Destination Drive at the Grandscape complex.[32]
In February 2023, Portillo's opened the fifth and sixth locations in Arizona, located inTucson andGilbert.
In March 2024, the company announced it would open two new restaurants in theHouston area—one in Richmond at The Grand at Aliana and the other at theWillowbrook Mall.[33]
In 2010, Portillo Restaurant Group launched the Honey Jam Café concept,[34][35] an upscalepancake house similar toWalker Brothers Pancake House in both ambiance and menu[36] as a breakfast and lunch cafe.[36] The Batavia, Illinois, location closed in 2019.[37]
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