The story
Portillo's was founded in 1963 by Dick Portillo. After returning from serving in the Marines, Portillo gathered money from his savings and an investment from his brother Frank to open a hot dog 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 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. 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". 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 opened 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.
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.
The company filed to go public in 2021. Its initial public offering sold 28% of the company as stocks traded on the Nasdaq as of October 21, 2021, with private equity firm Berkshire Partners retaining the remainder of the ownership.
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. 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 American pope and took the name Pope 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.
In September 2025, shortly after Portillo's announced a "strategic reset" 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.
In February 2026, Brett Patterson, former chief executive of Miller's Ale House, was announced as the new permanent CEO.
From Wikipedia’s article on Portillo's Restaurants, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7