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Presenting at William Blair’s 44th annual Growth Stock Conference, Portillo’s shared two sides of the potential it’s touted since going public in October 2021. Long-term, the Chicago-born brand wants to accelerate to 12–15 percent annual expansion. That would translate to mid-teens sales growth on a low-single-digit comp, and low-teens adjusted EBITDA expansion.

Originally, Portillo’s headed to the stock-market as a 67-unit brand with visions of 600 over the next 25 years. That would mean the business, started in 1963 when Dick Portillo took $1,100 meant for a first home and used it instead to purchase a 6-by-12-foot trailer, would lift some 900 percent. As wide as that view is, though, it was always going to be deliberate.

Close to three years later, Portillo’s has about 85 stores (as of May) after opening a restaurant in Denton, Texas. Eight more were scheduled for 2024. The brand expanded by net 11 locations in 2023.