Portillo's Restaurant Plans New Lenox Location

The popular Portillo's hot dog restaurant is coming to New Lenox and hopes to open this fall.

Mayor Tim Baldermann said he met with the Portillo's Group last week to help finalize the restaurant's decision to open in New Lenox over a few other communities.

Portillo's must still go obtain the regular Plan Commission and Village Board approval, but Baldermann said he doesn't think there will be any problems.

The restaurant would open in the final outlot of the and development, just west of .

"This is huge for a lot of reasons," Baldermann said. "It is such a popular place and people really want it. And they're a great company, so any time you can bring someone like that to a community, I think that whole development over there is going to see some additional benefits from people going to Portillo's."

The mayor credited village staff with working on the deal for the last few months, including planning administrator Robin Ellis and economic development director Nancy Hoehn. Hoehn helped bring Portillo's to Shorewood when she worked there.

"Nancy did a wonderful job of bringing their attention to New Lenox," Baldermann said. "And the community response is great—people have sent emails and phone calls we've forwared on to the Portillo's Group to show how supportive our community is."

Baldermann said there's an aggressive timeline that involves a public hearing before the Plan Commission the first week in April. He's hopeful the restaurant can get Village Board approval in May, after which construction would begin immediately for a fall opening.