How to take your hot dog to the next level
Hot dogs don’t have to be bored. Below are five ways to upgrade the classic American classic:
The issue has been resolved, review
Portillo’s, known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, has announced plans to expand as the year approaches its mid-point.
The fast casual restaurant chain, which also serves beef and sausage sandwiches and pasta, will open 12 new locations by the end of the year.
Among the new restaurants, most are in Texas and Georgia for the first time. The Kennesaw, Georgia location opened in late 2025, with Sara Wirth, director of PR, IR and Internal Communications, who is Portillo’s Director of Internal Communications, who spoke to USA Today.
According to Wirth, Portillo’s Accounting 2025 focuses on the growth of restaurants outside of Chicagoland, where the chain already exists. The current focus of the chain is primarily on the Sun Belt in Texas, but she added that there are plans to enter the Atlanta and San Antonio markets in the second half of 2025.
In addition to the new location, Wirth said Portillo is planning to open its first walk-up restaurant format later this year. Although a plan is set up for Portillo’s, Wirth said the chain will “continue to fill existing markets that will allow opportunities to be made available, including Chicagoland and the adjacent markets.”
What is Portillo?
The 62-year-old company opened its first hot dog stand in Villa Park, Illinois, known as the “kennel.” The company began as a trailer with no bathroom or running water.
Owner Dick Portillo spent $1,100 on the trailer and ran a 250-foot garden hose from a nearby building to the trailer for water, the company said on its website. Four years after opening the “kennel,” the company was renamed Portillo and moved into a new building.
In 2000, the company began shipping nationwide and expanded outside of Illinois five years later, at its location in Buena Park, California. The company continues to open new restaurants in states such as Indiana, Arizona and Florida.
This year, the company welcomed new customers at three locations in Orlando Park, Illinois, and at three locations in Katie and Willowbrook, Texas.
Saleen Martin is a reporter for the USA Today Now team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Email her to sdmartin@usatoday.com.
