---
title: "Portillo’s opens first airport unit"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/69f6ffd4-b33d-47da-abab-0183903a6dfb
source: "Restaurant Dive"
original_url: https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/portillos-opens-first-airport-unit-dallas-fort-worth-airport/821326/
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2026-05-28T00:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T14:23:10.854Z
image: https://imgproxy.divecdn.com/TleFlyhZiYqzsb_1EkDnphG1H9id6TiHbRz8jI_zZyo/g:ce/rs:fit:770:435/Z3M6Ly9kaXZlc2l0ZS1zdG9yYWdlL2RpdmVpbWFnZS9kZnctcmliYm9uLWN1dHRpbmcuanBn.webp
---

# Portillo’s opens first airport unit

**TL;DR:** Portillo's has opened its first airport location at Terminal B in Dallas Fort Worth, as part of its ongoing investment in Texas despite a disappointing 2025 in the state. The chain has opened five Texas locations in 2026 and is working to address productivity issues and boost brand awareness.

*originally published in Restaurant Dive on 2026-05-28. [Read the original](https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/portillos-opens-first-airport-unit-dallas-fort-worth-airport/821326/).*

## Story

The nontraditional location signals ongoing investment in Texas, where Portillo’s had a disappointing 2025.

- Portillo’s opened its first airport location at Terminal B in Dallas Fort Worth on Wednesday, the chain said in a press release.

- The restaurant, which has a small dine-in area for about 50 guests and pickup-only area, offers various ordering options, including at the register, self-order kiosks, order-ahead pickup and a grab-and-go area.

- While Portillo’s has grappled with underperformance in the Texas market , it continues to open stores in the Lone Star State. Through April, the chain opened five Texas locations in 2026, according to an earnings release .

Portillo’s disappointing openings in Texas last year, led the chain to reduce its new opening targets and sales projections. The chain said during the January ICR Conference that it opened too many Texas locations close together in a short amount of time. Combined with a lack of brand awareness, sales were below expectations.

The chain has been working on addressing productivity issues at its Texas restaurants and saw some improvements in back-of-house productivity and some topline growth during the first quarter, CEO Brett Patterson said during a May earnings call . It’s also working on an integrated marketing plan for the region as well, he added.

An airport location could help boost brand awareness and sales , and airports typically have higher unit volumes compared to traditional locations. Other chains, including Dine Brands , Auntie Anne’s , and Wahlburgers , are among those to recently open new airport locations.

Portillo’s airport menu will include beef sandwiches, hot dogs, char-broiled burgers, French fries and slices of chocolate cake. In addition, Portillo’s will offer a breakfast menu, including Polish sausage, an egg and cheese sandwich and a maple sausage and egg croissant, making it one of the only Portillo’s to offer this daypart.

The chain previously tested breakfast in a handful of Chicago locations in 2025, but ended the pilot in September.

Portillo’s posted a same-restaurant sales decline of 0.1% during the first quarter. The chain expects to have a total of eight restaurant openings this year, according to an earnings release.

## Entities

- QSR (sector)
- Restaurant Dive (publication)
- Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (location)
- brand awareness (topic)
- texas market (topic)
- Auntie Anne's (company)
- airport expansion (topic)
- Dine Brands (company)
- Portillo's (company)
- menu offering (topic)
- Wahlburgers (company)
- Brett Patterson (person)

---
Originally reported by Restaurant Dive (https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/portillos-opens-first-airport-unit-dallas-fort-worth-airport/821326/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/69f6ffd4-b33d-47da-abab-0183903a6dfb).