Portillo's Opens Next Week in Tempe

In February, the restaurant gods smiled upon Arizona by gracing Scottsdale with its first Portillo's, the Illinois restaurant chain beloved by Chicago transplants throughout the Valley who craved its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, hamburgers, and cake shakes. So eagerly awaited was its arrival by fans old and new, in...

By Laura Hahnefeld

September 6, 2013

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In February, the restaurant gods smiled upon Arizona by gracing Scottsdale with its first Portillo's, the Illinois restaurant chain beloved by Chicago transplants throughout the Valley who craved its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, hamburgers, and cake shakes.

So eagerly awaited was its arrival by fans old and new, in fact, that wait times on opening day clocked in at up to 45 minutes and 10,000 hungry fans showed up for the affair.

Get ready, Tempe. Next week, it's all about you.

At 10 a.m.,Tuesday, September 10, Portillo's will continue its expansion into Arizona with the grand opening of its Tempe Marketplace location (Rio Salado Parkway and McClintock Drive).

Built from the ground up, the 8,219 square foot restaurant includes a patio and -- like all Portillo's -- will come packed with vintage memorabilia reflecting owner and founder Dick Portillo's love of history -- especially Chicago history.

"Our Scottsdale opening was the largest in our company history," says Portillo. "Our Tempe Marketplace unit brings us closer to ASU and also the new Cubs Spring Training facility in Mesa so that we can continue serving our customers in the Southeast Valley."

The Portillo's in Tempe will be open from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sunday thru Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

The privately held, 50-year-old Portillo's, based in Illinois, has 38 locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area as well as Indiana, southern California, and Arizona.

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