Hot dogs are a beloved American staple, and different states have even put their own twist on the classic.
Although a controversial opinion among Americans, no one does hot dogs better than Chicago. The Chicago-style dog consists of an all-beef frankfurter wrapped in a poppy seed bun, garnished with green pickle relish, chopped onions, sliced tomato, and peppers, topped with yellow mustard, and finished off with a classic dill pickle.
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Thousands of restaurants nationwide serve hot dogs, but none compare to the Chicago-based Portillo’s. For over 60 years, it has served its beloved Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and homemade chocolate cake.
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Although it is a smaller chain compared to rival fast-casual chains, it has grown at an astonishing rate. No one would’ve expected a humble hot dog stand built in 1963 from a small trailer to become a popular restaurant chain with 94 locations across nine states.
Portillo’s adds breakfast to its classic menu.
Chicago Tribune/Getty Images
Portillo’s introduces its new breakfast menu at select Chicago locations
Portillo’s (PTLO) is best known for its Chicago-style dogs. However, due to popular demand and growing competition, it recently made an unexpected change in its classic menu.
The restaurant chain launched its first-ever breakfast menu in April, featuring signature morning staples that Chicago locals love, including various breakfast sandwiches, chocolate cake donuts in collaboration with Stan’s Donuts, multiple sides, and handcrafted coffee beverages.
Portillo’s is testing its new breakfast menu at five restaurants in the Chicago area from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The morning offerings can be ordered at Niles, Chicago -South Loop, Shorewood, Elmhurst, and Tinley Park locations, as stated on its website.
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The hype around this new revelation left many customers wondering if the chain plans to offer its breakfast menu nationwide anytime soon.
Their question would be answered only a few weeks later, but the chain’s response might not be what many expected.
Portillo’s provides a major update on its breakfast launch
Portillo’s CEO, Michael Osanloo, said during the company’s latest earnings call that the feedback from its breakfast pilot has been positive, but this does not mean it will become available at all locations nationwide.
Osanloo said the company will continue to monitor the progress of the breakfast test throughout the summer and gather all the metrics necessary to ensure success before it decides whether to expand it to other locations.
“There’s plenty of restaurant companies out there that have tried to expand to breakfast, and it hasn’t worked. So we have a number of internal metrics that will define success, and I think we want to make it as clean and clear as possible for us,” said Osanloo.
He added that breakfast could be a significant asset for the company, since it would extend the hours that locations are open for business, subsequently increasing sales.
However, there’s one major concern with this addition. If not handled properly, breakfast could hurt the bounceback in lunch preparations, affecting overall operations in the company’s main business.
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Osanloo noted that a successful test doesn’t mean Portillo’s will launch the breakfast menu nationwide; it would just give it the go-ahead to expand it in Chicago. The restaurant chain would then have to test it outside Chicago before bringing it to all locations.
Although Portillo’s has promoted the breakfast menu at the pilot locations, it has no plans yet to invest heavily in nationwide marketing.
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