The new fast-casual hot dog spot, Portillo's, proved to be a huge success. The first location in Texas at The Colony is bringing in an average of $48,000 per day. With those numbers, more locations are in the works.
The company was skeptical about bringing the beloved chain to The Colony, but the numbers don’t lie. Since the grand opening on Jan. 18, Portillo’s is hitting major numbers every day. According to QSR Magazine, the restaurant matched the same volume as the Chicago locations.
"That's a crazy number, so please don't model that," CEO Michael Osanloo told investors during the company's Q4 and full-year earnings call. "It's definitely coming down, but we feel really good that this restaurant will significantly exceed our underwriting expectations and set us up for further success in Texas as we continue to expand."
During the new location’s first 30 days, guest satisfaction scores outperformed the average of all of the company's restaurants since 2021. Osanloo said The Colony location is an "iconic flagship restaurant" and expects it to perform closer to a Chicago store instead of a typical out-of-core location.
“I am a little surprised and overwhelmed by the response that we've gotten,” Osanloo said. “I think that Texas can be either hit or miss for restaurant companies. If you do well, if you really approach it with a sense of humility and work your butt off, you can be great. If you try to mail it in, just assume you're going to be great, you might stub your toe."
In fact, the Texas location has done so well, expansion is guaranteed. The current plan is to open four to five new locations in Texas during 2023 — with Allen and Arlington locations confirmed.
“We are approaching our Texas expansion with a great deal of humility," Osanloo said. "We're looking for A-plus locations. We're going to continue to over-invest in management team and training of our team members. We'll open the restaurant when it's beautiful and ready to go and the folks are ready to go."
The new location in The Colony is offering dine-in, pickup and drive-thru, but the restaurant will begin offering third-party delivery and catering services once the “newness” wears off and volumes normalize.
