Portillo's Chicago-Style Restaurant Coming to Frisco in April 2026

When The Colony Mayor Richard Boyer watched drive-thru traffic wrap around Portillo's newest Texas location during its January 2023 opening week, he put it simply: "If there was any doubt that Texans would be receptive to Portillo's, all you had to do was see the lines and the traffic." In those first days, the restaurant averaged $48,000 a day. Frisco should expect more of the same.

The Chicago-born chain, famous for Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs, is targeting a mid-April soft opening at 16499 FM 423, on the northwest corner of Gordon Heights Lane just south of U.S. 380. The $6 million restaurant broke ground December 11, 2025, and was nearing completion as of late March.

The 6,250-square-foot building follows Portillo's "Restaurant of the Future" design: two dedicated drive-thru lanes, pick-up shelves, and a grab-and-go area, plus a 500-square-foot outdoor patio and seating for 120 guests inside. The layout is engineered to absorb the kind of sustained peak-hour volume the chain has come to expect at North Texas openings, keeping cars from backing onto FM 423 during lunch and dinner rushes.

The chain confirmed mid-April as its target window; no specific grand-opening date has been set. Hiring events were already underway as of late March, with employee training set to begin as the build nears its finish. Portillo's typically staffs dozens of hourly crew members and managers at each new location.

For Frisco residents who have not yet visited the Allen or Colony locations, the menu centers on a short list of Chicago staples priced mostly between $5 and $12. The Italian beef sandwich, thinly sliced seasoned roast beef soaked in its own juices, can be ordered wet or dry, with sweet peppers or giardiniera. The Chicago-style hot dog comes loaded in the traditional way: yellow mustard, neon green relish, sport peppers, a dill pickle spear and a dash of celery salt. No ketchup. Char-broiled burgers, cheese fries and the chain's chocolate cake shake round out the core menu.

The Frisco location is Portillo's third in the North Texas market, joining its restaurants in The Colony and Allen, both of which opened in 2023. It sits in a stretch of FM 423 that has absorbed a steady wave of commercial development south of U.S. 380. Based on what happened in The Colony, the opening days in Frisco will put every lane of that new drive-thru to work.