Portillo's Restaurants
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1963 in Villa Park, Illinois [citation needed] |
| Headquarters | Oak Brook, Illinois, USA |
Key people | Dick Portillo, Founder, Owner, President |
| Website | portillos.com |
Portillo's, which is the main entity within The Portillo Restaurant Group is a chain of restaurants that specialize in serving Chicago-style food. Portillo's is located primarily throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, with two locations in southern California and one in Scottsdale, Arizona.
History
Dick Portillo was born at 1330 West Van Buren in Chicago, Illinois. His family then moved to government-subsidized row houses on Mohawk Street, called the Mother Frances Cabrini Housing Project. After his father started earning enough money, they were prompted to leave and moved to 1617 South Central Park. His family later moved to the southwest suburbs. He was a 1957 graduate of Argo Community High School at 63rd and Harlem. After high school, he served a tour with the Marine Corps.
The first Portillo’s hot dog stand known as “The Dog House” opened in 1963 on North Avenue in Villa Park. Owner and founder Dick Portillo invested $1,100 into a 6’ x 12’ trailer without a bathroom or running water. To get the water he needed, he ran 250 feet of garden hose from a nearby building into the trailer.
By 1967, “The Dog House” was a success and was ready for a new look. After it was remodeled, it was renamed “Portillo’s” and over the years has grown into a successful multi-state operation. Portillo’s expanded to Southern California in 2005, Indiana in 2006 and expanded to Arizona in 2013.
The Barnelli’s Pasta Bowl concept was introduced in 1993, and features a variety of pastas with homemade sauces, gourmet salads, and hand-tossed pizza. Barnelli’s first opened in Schaumburg and has additional locations in Naperville, Vernon Hills, Glendale Heights, Niles, Summit, Crystal Lake, Chicago and Willowbrook, IL.
In September 2000, Mr. Portillo launched a full-service concept, Luigi’s House, located on Route 59 in the Aurora/Naperville area. Luigi’s House was inspired by Dick’s trips to Italy and the Mediterranean. Luigi’s House and its garden area have been meticulously designed to create the feeling of dining in a private Italian home, serving authentic traditional Italian cuisine in a cozy Italian/Mediterranean atmosphere. Mr. Portillo launched his latest concept, Honey-Jam Cafe in May of 2010. There are currently three Illinois locations: one in Downers Grove, one in Batavia and a third in Bolingbrook. Honey-Jam Cafe serves breakfast and lunch in a unique and upscale atmosphere you would not expect to find in a breakfast and lunch restaurant. Several of the items on the menu were discovered by Dick in different restaurants he visited during his travels throughout the United States and the world. Most of the décor, including the large double-sided fireplaces, was inspired by Dick’s travels to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and various locations throughout the United States.
Julian’s Plaza, a shopping center created by Mr. Portillo, opened in Bolingbrook, IL in April 2011. Julian’s Plaza has over 42,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and is positioned at the busiest corner in Will County, Illinois. Richport Plaza, the second shopping plaza developed by Mr. Portillo will open in Spring 2013 in Elgin, IL. The plaza has 16,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
Portillo’s Home Kitchen is the restaurant group’s fast-growing catering and shipping division, serving award winning family recipes, products of renowned quality and providing unparalleled service. Portillo’s Home Kitchen offers a wide range of products, including famous Italian beef, fresh pasta trays, gourmet salads and award-winning bar-b-q ribs. Boxes of Italian beef, hot dogs, barbecue ribs and tamales are available for shipping to all 50 states.
The Portillo Restaurant Group is the recipient of numerous awards and is the largest privately owned restaurant group in the Midwest. This was all accomplished without franchising or investors. Combined, the concepts have over 4000 employees and a total of 50 restaurants, plus a catering and shipping division and two shopping plazas.
Menu
The Portillo's menu includes a variety of items, including Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, hamburgers, sandwiches, ribs, and salads, as well as beer and wine. One popular item is the Beef n' Cheddar Croissant, which consists of Italian beef, shredded cheddar, and they suggest adding sweet or hot peppers on a 10" croissant.
They also boast dessert items such as very popular chocolate cake (notable for the rumor that mayonnaise is an ingredient) and milkshakes, and a mix of the two, the famous Chocolate Cake Shake, which is basically a piece of the chocolate cake blended in with a chocolate shake.
The chain's main competition are mostly local, privately owned stores, most of which also specialize in Italian beef and Chicago-style hot dogs. The largest competitors of Portillo's in Chicagoland are Scooby's Red Hots and Buona Beef.
Outside Illinois
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has been operating in Southern California since October 11, 2005, at the Buena Park Downtown shopping center in Buena Park, near Knott's Berry Farm and also opened a location in Moreno Valley, California in 2008. A location also exists in Merrillville, Indiana, though this is still well within the firm's home market of Chicagoland.
Portillo's had licensed restaurants using its recipes and themes in Tokyo, Japan, in the late 1980s and early '90s. However, the Japanese restaurants did not fully follow the same tradition as the Chicago area stores, and all eventually closed.[1] Portillo's also delivers part of its menu to all fifty US states in a united venture alongside Eli's Cheesecake and Lou Malnati's pizzeria.[2]
Due to a dense population of transient Mid-westerners in the Arizona market and the previous success of other Chicago-style eateries in that area, such as Rosati's Pizza, Portillo's is planning an initial launch of three restaurants in Arizona. Portillo's opened its first Arizona location February 26, 2013, at the southwest corner of N. 90th St. and E. Shea Blvd in Scottsdale which will be followed by a location in Tempe. Both locations are near the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. [3]
Honey Jam Cafe
In 2010 Portillo Restaurant Group launched the Honey Jam concept.[4] Unlike the other three concepts which focus on fast casual food Honey Jam is essentially an upscale pancake house similar to Walker Brothers Pancake House in both ambiance and menu. They feature unique pancake and waffle combinations and specialty items such as a baked apple pancakes, German pancakes, strawberry cheesecake french toast and white chocolate raspberry Belgian waffles. Honey Jam offers patrons whom order coffee a cup "to go" after receiving their check. The concept's name, according to the menu, is derived from the owners pet-name for his wife, "Honey" and the first letter of his three children's first names comprising the acronym "JAM." The concept is positioned as a breakfast and lunch cafe, and thus closes at 3 p.m. [5]
References
- ^ Portillo's Hot Dogs: Out of the dog house and living the American dream, frankfurter chain operator grows his business independently | Nation's Restaurant News | Find Articles...
- ^ Portillo's Beef Kit & Pizza Combo
- ^ http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/dining/articles/2012/07/04/20120704portillos-hot-dogs-will-open-eateries-tempe-scottsdale.html
- ^ What's the big idea? Breakfast - Chicago Tribune
- ^ Honey Jam Cafe menu introduction
External links
- Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois
- Fast casual restaurants
- Fast-food chains of the United States
- Hot dog restaurants
- Oak Brook, Illinois
- Regional restaurant chains in the United States
- Restaurants established in 1963
- Restaurants in Chicago, Illinois
- American sandwiches
- Italian-American cuisine
- Pancake houses