093_HR0183

                                     LRB093 11396 HSS 13883 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  The  members   of   the   Illinois   House   of
 3    Representatives  wish to offer our sincere congratulations to
 4    the Portillo's Restaurant Group on its 40th anniversary; and

 5        WHEREAS, The first Portillo's hot dog stand known as "The
 6    Dog House" opened in 1963 in Villa Park; and

 7        WHEREAS, Owner and founder Dick  Portillo  operated  "The
 8    Dog  House" in a 6-foot by 12-foot trailer without a bathroom
 9    or running water; and

10        WHEREAS, In 1967,  "The  Dog  House"  was  remodeled  and
11    renamed "Portillo's"; and

12        WHEREAS, In 1987, Dick Portillo introduced a new concept,
13    Barney's  restaurant  serving  award  winning  ribs, chicken,
14    sandwiches, and salads; and

15        WHEREAS, Further expansions in 1993 led to the successful
16    restaurant named  Barnelli's  Pasta  Bowl  which  features  a
17    selection of pastas with homemade sauces, gourmet salads, and
18    hand tossed pizza; and

19        WHEREAS,   The   Key   Wester  Fish  &  Pasta  House  and
20    Hemingway's Bar, complete with a waterfall, 2,200 gallon salt
21    water aquarium, and accented  with  other  original  nautical
22    memorabilia  from  Key West, Florida offers a wide variety of
23    seafood and pasta specialties; it  opened  in  Naperville  in
24    1996; and

25        WHEREAS,   The  latest  restaurant,  Luigi's  House,  was
26    inspired from Dick's memories of the trip to  Italy  and  the
27    Mediterranean and opened in Aurora in September of 2000; and

28        WHEREAS,   Portillo's   Home   Kitchen  is  the  catering
29    division, serving award winning family recipes; and
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11396 HSS 13883 r
 1        WHEREAS, Today the Portillo  Restaurant  Group  has  more
 2    than  3,600 employees and 40 different restaurants throughout
 3    Illinois; and

 4        WHEREAS, The Portillo Restaurant  Group  is  the  largest
 5    privately-owned,  family  operated  restaurant company in the
 6    Midwest; and

 7        WHEREAS, Dick Portillo and  Portillo's  restaurants  have
 8    received countless awards including, the Chicago Food Service
 9    Marketing  Club Hall of Fame Award, Area Service Entrepreneur
10    of the  Year,  Top  3  Restaurateur  of  the  Year,  and  the
11    Restaurateur  of  the Year Award; the company has received so
12    many Silver Platter awards  that  the  company  retired  from
13    competition to give others a chance; and

14        WHEREAS,  On  April 9, 2003 the Portillo Restaurant Group
15    will celebrate its 40th anniversary; therefore, be it

16        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
17    NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18    we do hereby offer our congratulations to Dick  Portillo  and
19    the  Portillo  Restaurant  Group  on the occasion of its 40th
20    anniversary and we recognize the hard work and dedication  to
21    excellence  that  has  made  Portillo's  a success; and be it
22    further

23        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
24    presented to Dick Portillo and the Portillo Restaurant Group.