How Portillo's Hot Dogs Became So Famous In Chicago And Beyond

Cities across the U.S. that have famous foods are naturally home to well-known eateries where residents and tourists alike flock to enjoy them. One of Chicago's most iconic foods is its signature hot dog, named by late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain as the best hot dog style, and Portillo's is among the most legendary places to get one. The celebrated franks helped it rise from humble beginnings to become a national chain that had more than $732 million in sales in 2025.

Dick Portillo used $1,100 to open a hot dog stand called The Dog House in the Villa Park suburb of Chicago in 1963, which operated out of a small trailer with no running water. It eventually did well enough to relocate into an actual building in 1967 under a new name: Portillo's. Due to its success, it began to expand with more restaurants in the area. The first one with a drive-through opened in 1983 as the seventh location, while the chain didn't debut in Chicago proper until 1994.

The chain made its first leap outside Illinois in 2005, opening a restaurant in Buena Park, California, and made more forays outside the state. Nearly a decade later, with 38 locations, Dick Portillo sold the chain to private equity firm Berkshire Partners for nearly $1 billion. As of June 2026, there are more than 100 Portillo's locations across 11 states, all company-owned with no franchises.

Portillo's has always used Vienna Beef hot dogs, which is a fan-favorite brand at many MLB stadiums too. The company was born in Chicago when the all-beef franks were first served at the 1893 World's Fair by Austrian-Hungarian immigrant brothers-in-law Emil Reichel and Samuel Ladany. They later opened a store nearby, and their sausage and hot dog business became hugely successful. In recognition of Portillo's loyalty, Vienna Beef inducted the chain into its Hall of Fame and gave it the first Legends Award.

Portillo's frank comes on a steamed poppy seed bun and has the iconic Chicago-style trimmings: yellow mustard, relish, chopped onions, sliced tomato, a kosher pickle spear, celery salt, and sport peppers, pickled green chili peppers with a little heat. The style, dubbed "dragging the dog through the garden," also comes in a jumbo size, with a plant-based frank, or with a Polish sausage. A Chili Cheese Dog and a Maxwell Street Polish Sausage topped with yellow mustard and grilled onions are also on the menu.

Some other Portillo's favorites are its Italian beef sandwich, the must-have Chicago food that isn't hot dogs or pizza, chopped salad, cheese fries, homemade chocolate cake, and its Chocolate Cake Shake that has a piece of the cake in a vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry milkshake. It will ship kits to make the Chicago-style dog, Italian beef sandwich, Maxwell Street Polish Sausage, or tamales anywhere in the U.S., as well as a whole chocolate cake.