A Portillo's original hot dog is seen on March 8, 2021.
The outside of Portillo's on March 8, 2021, in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Portillo’s, known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, announced its plans to expand as the year nears its halfway point.

The fast-casual restaurant chain, which also serves beef and sausage sandwiches and pasta, will have opened up 12 new locations by the end of the year.

Among the new restaurants, most will be in Texas and, for the first time, in Georgia. The location in Kennesaw, Georgia, will open during the latter half of 2025, Sara Wirth, the director of PR, IR and internal communications at Portillo’s, told USA TODAY.

Wirth said Portillo's fiscal 2025 is focused on restaurant growth outside Chicagoland, where the chain already has a presence. The chain's current focus is the Sunbelt, primarily in Texas, but there are plans to enter the Atlanta and San Antonio markets in the second half of 2025, she added.

In addition to the new locations, Wirth said Portillo's plans to open its first walk-up restaurant format later this year. Although Portillo's has plans set, Wirth stated that the chain will "continue to fill-in existing markets, including Chicagoland and adjacent markets as opportunities come available."

What is Portillo's?

The 62-year-old company opened its first hot dog stand called "The Dog House" in 1963 in Villa Park, Illinois. The company began as a trailer with no bathroom and no running water.

Owner Dick Portillo spent $1,100 on the trailer, running a 250-foot garden hose from a nearby building into the trailer for water, the company said on its website. Four years after opening “The Dog House,” the company was renamed Portillo’s and moved into a new building.

In 2000, the company began shipping nationwide, and five years later, expanded outside of Illinois with a location in Buena Park, California. The company has continued to open new restaurants in states such as Indiana, Arizona, and Florida.

The company welcomed new customers this year at three locations in Orland Park, Illinois, and in Katy and Willowbrook, Texas, Wirth said.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Portillo's opening new locations in 2025, including first in Georgia

Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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