Portillo's was founded in 1963 by Dick Portillo. After returning from serving in the Marines, Portillo gathered money from his savings and from an investment from his brother Frank to open a hotdog stand. They bought a 12-foot trailer that had no restroom and no running water. They named it "The Dog House". The Dog House operated on North Avenue in Villa Park. At the beginning stages, the stand was losing money and Portillo needed to find a solution. Portillo went to do some research one day on how other competitors were operating and snuck into one of the back rooms of a competitor and wrote down where they were purchasing their product. He continued the process of learning by visiting different competitors. By 1967, The Dog House was in good standing, was upgraded to a larger trailer, and was renamed "Portillo's". In 1970, he partnered with Harold Reskin and opened up his second location in a shopping mall that Reskin owned. 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 in Downers Grove. In the 90's Portillo's had profited by more than $50 million with 25 stores around the Chicago area. 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 of Clark and Ontario St. In 1995, Portillo expanded Key Wester Fish & Pasta House in Naples, Florida. In 1996, Portillo brought the Key Wester Fish & Pasta to Naperville. In 2000, Portillo opened another concept restaurant called Luigi's House. The Portillo's chain grew again in 2010 with Honey-Jam Café. The Batavia, Illinois location closed just three years later. In 2014, Portillo sold Portillo's to Berkshire 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.
Outside Illinois
Portillo's first California location opened on October 11, 2005, at the Buena Park Downtown shopping center in Buena Park. The second California location opened in 2008 in the Inland Empirecity ofMoreno Valley. Portillo's also has three locations in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in Arizona, two in the Milwaukee metropolitan area, and one in the Northwest Indiana town of Merrillville, though the latter is still well within the firm's home market of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Portillo's opened its first Florida location in 2016 in the Tampa suburb of Brandon, Florida and a second location that same year in the University 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 hometown NHL team, the Chicago Blackhawks, beat the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the 2015 Stanley 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." Both Tampa and Brandon, FL locations are themed 30's Prohibition. The Minneapolis-St. Paul region's first location opened in Woodbury in mid-summer 2017 as quite a few former Chicagoans have moved to the area and a new restaurant in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area commenced operations in fall 2017. Portillo's opened its second restaurant in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, as well as in late 2018 in Roseville, Minnesota as well as its third and fourth Indiana locations in 2018. Portillo's had licensed restaurants in Tokyo, Japan, in the late 1980s and early '90s. The Japanese locations all eventually closed. Portillo's opened its first restaurant in the Madison, Wisconsin area in early 2019. Portillo's opened its first restaurant in the Davenport, Iowa area in early 2019, marking its first location in Iowa. Portillo's announced a new location coming to Orlando, Florida. The location will open in 2020 at the corner of Palm Parkway and Daryl Carter Boulevard. Portillo's announced a new location in Sterling Heights, Michigan in Metro Detroit which will be the first location within Michigan.
Honey Jam Cafe
In 2010, Portillo Restaurant Group launched the Honey Jam Café concept, an upscale pancake house similar to Walker Brothers Pancake House in both ambiance and menu as a breakfast and lunch cafe.
