Portillo’s Hot Dogs is due to open one of its newest Arizona outposts in Gilbert’s premier shopping district, SanTan Village, located at 2218 E Williams Field Rd, sometime next year according to vice president of construction and facilities, Preston Funkhouser.
Funkhouser declined to give a specific opening date, however, he did share that construction should be done by the end of this year, and that the overall theme is a retro “southwest garage” that’s “tailored to the southwest color scheme,” adding, “I think it’ll be very appropriate for Gilbert, and we’re very excited about it.”
The origins of Portillo’s can be traced back to Villa Park, Illinois and a young entrepreneur named Dick Portillo, who opened his first Portillo’s hot dog stand – affectionately known as the Dog House – with $1,100 in 1963.
Since then, the brand has become “synonymous with Chicago,” thanks to its signature offerings such as Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, chopped salad, cheese fries, homemade chocolate cake, and chocolate cake shake, all of which are served up in “vintage-inspired dining environments and via our unique drive-thrus,” the company writes on its website.
Of the roughly 70 Portillo’s restaurants to be found in nearly 10 states, four reside in the greater Phoenix area including Avondale, Glendale, Scottsdale, and Tempe.
