Peoria Is Getting A Portillo’s, Could The Quad Cities Finally Be Next?

Portillo's is one of the restaurant chains that everyone would die to have built in the Quad Cities, and now that a location has been announced for Peoria, mouths have begun to salivate even more. Quad Citians want Portillo's ASAP.

According to the Peoria Journal Star, on Monday, Portillo's officially announced their plans to break ground in Peoria sometime in 2018. This news comes on the heels of the hot dog chain opening restaurants in Normal and Champaign earlier this year. A location also opened in my hometown of Rockford, Illinois just a couple of years ago, much to the delight of everyone (including me). It certainly seems as if Portillo's is intent on expanding further across the Midwest, but could a QC location ever become a reality?

Not much has been announced regarding a proposed QC location since August when Bring Portillo's To The Quad Cities Facebook page announced that the restaurant was speaking with city consultants in Moline to identify a location. One of the last page updates said that Portillo's has very specific criteria for selecting restaurant sites, so it could be a while before the Moline location comes to fruition. But the post also said that the CEO of Portillo's is from Moline, so building a location there would make sense.

While I don't think we should be getting too excited just yet, there is still plenty of hope that a Portillo's is in the cards for the QC. I remember it took years and years of begging, pleading, and hoping for Rockford to finally get a location, but it did eventually happen. And let me tell you, it was worth the wait. We will keep you updated if there are developments with Moline in the months ahead, but for now, keep the faith.