# Portillo’s ties smaller restaurants to stricter site approval

> Source: https://qsr.pro/articles/portillos-2028-smaller-restaurants-site-approval
> Publisher: QSR Pro
> Last content update: 2026-11-06T14:12:51.609994+00:00


Portillo’s plans a smaller format while tightening location reviews and reorganizing field support.

Published: 2026-11-06T14:12:51.609994+00:00

By QSR Pro Staff

![Portillo’s ties smaller restaurants to stricter site approval](https://gadzwjyojqpwmxtgebnh.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/article-images/daily-20261106-portillos-site-model-v1-ec34c83ecc3c.webp)

*AI-generated illustration: QSR.pro. Conceptual restaurant-site model.*

Portillo’s says new locations must pass market and site reviews and meet return targets as it prepares a smaller restaurant design for 2028. On [November 5](https://portillos.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/portillos-inc-announces-third-quarter-2026-financial-results), the company-operated chain set cash-on-cash return targets above 20% for openings from 2028.

The planned prototype calls for about 4,600 square feet and 1.5 acres, compared with a historical site requirement of 3 acres. Portillo’s expects an optimized kitchen, standardized design and greater site flexibility to improve productivity, according to the [announcement](https://portillos.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/portillos-inc-announces-third-quarter-2026-financial-results).

## A shorter production line came first

The chain had already reduced its physical footprint. Its [2025 annual report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1871509/000187150926000012/ptlo-20251228.htm) describes older restaurants that sometimes exceeded 10,000 square feet and used 105-foot production lines. Two restaurants opened in 2024 with its Restaurant of the Future 1.0 design: 6,250 square feet and a 47-foot line.

That version became the main template for the [following year’s openings](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1871509/000187150926000012/ptlo-20251228.htm). All new restaurants in 2025 used it except one in-line restaurant and one pickup location, the company reported. It described that restaurant design as more efficient to build and better suited to how customers use its restaurants.

That change sat within a [broader shift](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1871509/000187150926000012/ptlo-20251228.htm) toward gradual entry into new markets and returns at the individual restaurant level. Portillo’s already described both priorities in that filing. Its operating model accommodated drive-thru, dining room, carryout, delivery and catering orders. Nearly all its restaurants had been built with double-lane drive-thrus.

Portillo’s also [reported](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1871509/000187150926000012/ptlo-20251228.htm) that some restaurants begin with higher-than-normal sales, while restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margins are generally lower in their first 12 months. In new markets, it said, the time required for sales to stabilize is less predictable.

## Where the next restaurant goes

On the [November 5 earnings call](https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/ptlo/transcripts/725298-q3-2026/), CEO Brett Patterson described the location problem behind the revised strategy. Customers outside Chicago could be equally enthusiastic about Portillo’s, he said, yet face a much longer trip. Someone driving 10 or 15 miles would visit less often than a customer with a restaurant nearby.

Patterson said [rapid infill](https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/ptlo/transcripts/725298-q3-2026/), adding restaurants within markets it had already entered, redistributed sales and put pressure on restaurant economics. He described the revised approach as more selective about infill sites, with adjacent markets offering another route to build awareness.

[He also said](https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/ptlo/transcripts/725298-q3-2026/) some newer restaurants had displayed only the Portillo’s name, omitting what they served. For customers unfamiliar with the brand, that created an awareness problem, in his account.

Asked about sales targets for the smaller 2028 format, Patterson did not give a fixed average unit volume. He argued that site selection would determine sales potential and that the smaller building need not limit volume. He emphasized getting customers through the drive-thru and food out quickly and accurately. [Call transcript](https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/ptlo/transcripts/725298-q3-2026/)

Portillo’s says field leaders oversee fewer restaurants, with shorter distances between them. [Operating plan](https://portillos.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/portillos-inc-announces-third-quarter-2026-financial-results)

It puts technology and maintenance at existing restaurants ahead of qualified new openings in its capital-allocation priorities, with excess cash directed toward debt reduction. [Capital priorities](https://portillos.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/portillos-inc-announces-third-quarter-2026-financial-results)

Category: [Operations & Management](https://qsr.pro/categories/operations)