Oct. 07--Portillo's is taking its Chicago-style food to the land of cheeseheads, hold the side of smack talk.
Pending city approval, the Oak Brook-based restaurant chain known for its hot dogs and Italian beef will open in Brookfield, Wis., about a 20-minute drive west of Milwaukee, the company said Wednesday. The restaurant is expected to open in the second half of 2016, and it would likely represent the chain's 44th location.
When Portillo's announced plans to open in Florida, right after the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, 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."
Nick Scarpino, Portillo's director of marketing who conceived the Florida ad, said there were plans for an ad offering a "friendly wager" leading up to a Bears-Packers game. Regardless of which team won, the wager's end would have been the announcement of the Brookfield restaurant opening.
But Scarpino said the timing of the ad didn't line up with the local approval process and the football schedule. "It breaks my heart," he said.
Portillo's plans to increase its number of restaurants by 10 to 15 percent each year, with a Gurnee location opening next month and the first Florida outpost in Brandon, just outside Tampa, opening in the spring.
Plans for a South Loop Portillo's are still in the works, Scarpino said, and the project is scheduled to go before the city's Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 16. That restaurant would open next year if approved.
Both Bears and Packers fans will be welcome, Scarpino said.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
