August 12, 2025
Portillo’s Celebrates Grand Opening of First Restaurant in The Villages
By Kyle Coppola
Portillo’s Celebrates Grand Opening of First Restaurant in The Villages
Portillo’s, the Chicago-based fast-casual restaurant known for its hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and signature chocolate cake, officially opened its doors Tuesday in The Villages, the company’s first location in the new family section of The Villages called Middleton.
(A line formed outside in anticipation for the Grand Opening of Portillo’s newest location in The Villages.)
The grand opening event, held at 2283 Dr. Randy McDaniel Way in the Middleton Town Center, drew hundreds of eager fans and first-time guests. The rapidly expanding Downtown Middleton continues to add businesses. It’s located right outside The Villages Charter School’s and right across the street from the Middleton communities.
Geno Jarquin, director of commercial development for The Villages, said the partnership came together in response to strong local demand. “Having a restaurant like Portillo’s is great for our shopping center because of the brand’s customer loyalty and great food,” he says. “Portillo’s has been highly requested by the residents of Middleton and The Villages.”
Portillo’s president and CEO Michael Osanloo said the smaller footprint is a deliberate step in the brand’s growth strategy. “We’re excited to introduce these new restaurant formats as a key step in Portillo’s growth,” he says, noting that The Villages location and a recent Dallas-Fort Worth airport site represent the future of Portillo’s expansion into high-traffic, community-centered markets.
(This is a smaller dine-in only Portillo’s location.)
Unlike traditional Portillo’s locations, the new 4,300-square-foot restaurant features a smaller, dine-in-only format with both indoor and outdoor seating. The location also includes a Grab & Go retail section and Portillo’s Pick Up shelves. Notably, this location does not include a drive-thru, a change from the company’s standard design.
(Residents wait for the grand opening of Portillo’s in The Villages.)
Guests can enjoy iconic menu items such as Chicago-style hot dogs, char-grilled burgers, Italian beef sandwiches and so much more.
Are you excited for Portillo’s? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo Credit – Nicole Hamel
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Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
I’m not sure the Middleton demographics would support a Trader Joe’s but it’s clearly what the Villages is missing. The trigger for more relevant retail is the opening of Costco in the western area of the Villages and of course it’s jammed. Great to get the Portillos but disappointed it won’t be a full size store.