Portillo's

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 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 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 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. 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.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.