Bloomington tried to land Portillo’s in 1990s

Posted on August 11, 2017
John Brandt and Dick Portillo
Former owner of Brandtville and the Brandt Truck Line, John Brandt (left), chats with Dick Portillo in front of the replica of Portillo’s 1960’s era hot dog stand called The Dog House. (Photo by Howard Packowitz/WJBC)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – It’s a sign of a growing community that Normal was able to land the Portillo’s restaurant that’s opening on Tuesday.

Bloomington tried to lure the iconic Chicago-style eatery to town two decades ago. John Brandt, former owner of Brandt Truck Line and Brandtville, recalls he and then Bloomington-mayor Judy Markowitz tried to convince Portillo’s to build here in the 1990s.

“They were thinking about it at that time and decided because of our population it was not a population of a million in total market area in their valuation, so they decided not to come,” Brandt said.

Brant predicted Portillo’s will do well here, calling Bloomington-Normal a ‘success community beyond words.’

“This is the garden spot of Illinois. and the garden spot of Illinois will support this facility above their average store sales from day one,” Brandt declared.

Normal attracted Portillo’s with the help of $1.8 million in sales tax rebates.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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