EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Portillo’s, the fast-casual chain known for Chicago-style street food, opened its first El Paso restaurant on Tuesday, bringing Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago-style hot dogs, and other fan favorites to the Far East.<\/p>\n
The restaurant, which is located at 12221 Montana Ave., at the corner where Montana Avenue and U.S. 375 meet, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. <\/p>\n
This will be the first Portillo’s in El Paso, but the 18th in Texas.<\/p>\n
During the ribbon-cutting, Portillo\u2019s Vice President of Restaurant Support, Michael Portillo, presented a check to the El Paso Independent School District Education Foundation in support of their efforts and also revealed a deep connection between the Borderland and Portillo’s. <\/p>\n
As it turns out, the Portillo’s story is a migrant’s story. <\/p>\n
Portillo’s grandfather moved from Durango, Mexico, to the U.S., first settling in El Paso, where he lived for 15 years before moving to Chicago.<\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: <\/a>Wiz Khalifa announces El Paso tour stop at 11:11 EPTX in May<\/a><\/p>\n The ceremony was attended by El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson, who, being from Chicago, let known that he is a fan of Portillo’s.<\/p>\n The first 100 Portillo\u2019s Perks loyalty members in attendance are set to receive exclusive specialty swag. Customers are encouraged to sign up for the loyalty program at portillos.com\/perks or through the Portillo\u2019s app and arrive early. New Perks members also receive a welcome reward of free French fries, with terms and exclusions applying.<\/p>\n Portillo\u2019s said the El Paso restaurant spans about 6,250 square feet and features the company\u2019s \u201cRestaurant of the Future\u201d design, with seating for about 130 guests indoors and 40 on the patio. The location also includes double drive-thru lanes, pick-up shelves and a grab-and-go area.<\/p>\n The menu includes Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago-style hot dogs, char-grilled burgers, crinkle-cut French fries and Portillo\u2019s chocolate cake.<\/p>\n Portillo\u2019s, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, has grown from a Chicago hot dog trailer to more than 100 restaurants across 11 states.<\/p>\n