Dec. 09--Portillo's, popular purveyor of Chicago-style food, has plans to feed its strong Florida fan base with a second proposed location in the Tampa Bay area.
Portillo's, the Oak Brook-based chain known for its hot dogs, Italian beef and cake shakes, seeks to build a 9,020-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru at 2102 E. Fowler Ave. at University Mall, according to documents filed with the city. If approved, the restaurant would represent the second Portillo's in the Tampa Bay region.
Nick Scarpino, spokesman for Portillo's, said the company is "actively looking" for other potential locations in the Tampa area. "There's a huge population of people who previously lived in Chicago in the whole Tampa area," he said. "People have been asking us to come there for a long time."
Since Portillo's began shipping food to other states about 15 years ago, more than 20,000 pounds of Italian beef have been shipped to the Tampa area, making it the chain's largest out-of-state market, Scarpino said.
If approved, the University Mall location likely would open in the second half of 2016, Scarpino said. The first Florida Portillo's, in the nearby suburb of Brandon, is expected to open in March.
Portillo's CEO Keith Kinsey told the Tribune in October that Tampa was a key market for potential growth.
University Mall, near the University of South Florida, is undergoing redevelopment that has Portillo's brass "excited" for the possibility, Scarpino said.
It would be Portillo's 45th restaurant. Currently, there are 41 locations in Illinois, California, Indiana and Arizona. There are also plans for locations in Chicago's South Loop and in Brookfield, Wis., next year.
Last year, founder and former CEO Dick Portillo sold his company for an undisclosed sum to Boston-based Berkshire Partners but remains involved in the business. Kinsey, who was hired as CEO in July, has said the plan is to increase the number of restaurants by 10 to 15 percent each year.
When Portillo's announced plans to open in Florida, right after the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final earlier this year, the company took out a full-page ad in the Tampa Bay Times that read: "Cheer up Tampa, there's good news from Chicago today."
gtrotter@tribpub.com
