Members of the City of Fishers and the media were able to experience a firsthand look inside the new Portillo’s in Fishers, 9201 E. 116th St.
Dick Portillo, founder of Portillo’s, spoke during the event.
Portillo gave a brief history on the company from the steps of a replica of the original trailer for Portillo’s, called The Dog House, which began April 5, 1963, with an investment of $1,100.
Portillo said he took three things from his background with the Marine Corps, which were the value of teamwork, the value of organization and the value of training. He also gave credit to his wife Sharon for standing by his side.
“At every entrance to every Portillo’s in the cement it says ‘Dick loves Sharon,’ and also in the restaurant of every Portillo’s there’s a heart and it says ‘Dick loves Sharon,’” Portillo said. “With all my crazy ideas, that woman stood by me and never complained about that.”
Portillo said his company has come a long way since the original trailer in 1963.
“It got there by passion,” he said. “You’ll see energy and you’ll see better trained help and the expense this company put into the building because they know the public appreciates quality. We used four things, quality, service, attitude and cleanliness, which is one of the reasons Portillo’s is the highest grossing brand of its kind in the country. We started with a trailer and an $1,100 investment. Now when we open next to a national brand, we don’t compete with them. We intimidate them.”
“We’re thrilled to have these guys here,” Mayor Scott Fadness said. “Dick Portillo’s story is one of the greatest entrepreneurial stories to hear him starting in a trailer and building the empire he has and adhering to the values he has that made that first business work.”
