Dick Portillo

In 1963, Dick Portillo built a 6’ x 12’ trailer with no running water or bathroom and opened a simple hot dog stand in Villa Park, Illinois. He called it “The Dog House.” More than 50 years and 50 locations later, his namesake Portillo’s restaurants are a Windy City institution, famous for perfect, Chicago-style dogs. In Out of the Dog House, Portillo tells the incredible story of his life, sharing the ingenuity and hard-earned wisdom that went into building a beloved restaurant chain.

From a modest childhood as the son of Greek and Mexican immigrants, to the core principles that became essential in growing a national business, this is a singular, at times surprising, tale of how one man crafted his own American dream, one hot dog at a time.