This Chicago hot dog chain is adding a new Florida location. Is it closer to Miami?
Ready for a hot dog?
A well-known Midwest restaurant is making plans to open another location on Florida’s Gulf Coast. And this one is a little closer to South Florida.
Portillo’s, a popular Chicago-area street food chain, has filed a preliminary site plan with Manatee County to open in Bradenton, between Sarasota and St. Petersburg.
The proposed restaurant would go in the Marketplace at Heritage Harbour plaza off State Road 64 East and Grand Harbour Parkway, according to property records.
Portillo’s is best known for hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake shakes.
What to know about Portillo’s expanding in Florida
Dick Portillo founded the restaurant as the Dog House in 1963, according to company history. It was a hot dog stand in the Chicago suburb of Villa Park, Ill. The name was changed to Portillo’s in 1967, the company said.
Today, more than 70 Portillo’s restaurants are in multiple states, most in Illinois but also in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and others.
The Bradenton store would mark the ninth one in Florida and the first in Manatee County.
Other Florida locations include Tampa, St. Pete and Orlando, as well as their suburban areas. There are no Portillo’s in South Florida, but the Bradenton restaurant across the state will be the closest to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
The Bradenton restaurant would be 6,250 square feet with a 500-square-foot patio, dual drive-thru lanes and a 79-space parking lot, according to plans filed with the county. The company didn’t provide a timeline for the restaurant’s opening.
