Portillo's Stops Taking Cash Due To Robberies

[Alpha8472]

Portillo's is going cashless at their drive-thru lanes due to robberies. Cash will be accepted inside.

At least this chain still has the indoor counter open.

The company also says inflation is making fries and onion rings more costly.

https://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/cost-pr ... s-concerns

[storewanderer]

I see a pretty high percentage of cash use occurring at fast food drive throughs. While I like this policy I am not sure the customers at large will like it. I would not implement this policy if I were in charge at this time.

When they talk robberies I wonder how much internal theft of cash is occurring.

Another option would be to put a cash acceptor in the middle of the wall and have it dispense out change (like a self checkout) so this way the cash is secured and the window employee has no access to the cash.

One of the things as fast food places were drive through only/keeping inside closed is everyone working in the fast foods was happy to only have to deal with one cash drawer (the one at drive through). That was one of the arguments of the employees who said it was "too hard to open up inside for to go" - you have to have cash in the front register again.

Portillo's units are designed a bit odd inside. There are usually multiple "counters" almost like a food court. There is usually a register for liquor/catering, a register for the salad bowl counter, a set of registers for the burger/hot dog counter. So I wonder if every single position will continue to accept cash inside, or if they will only be accepting cash at the main set of registers for burger/hot dog.

[HCal]

Haven't heard of this chain, but I'm surprised that any fast food business would go cashless. At least in my observation, the groups that tend to use cash the most (people from lower socioeconomic classes, seniors, and teenagers) seem to be fast food's biggest customers.

Perhaps this is an excuse to get rid of problem patrons and attract a more sophisticated clientele.

Someone who lives near one, please report back and let us know how this goes, because I'm curious.

[ClownLoach]

Haven't heard of this chain, but I'm surprised that any fast food business would go cashless. At least in my observation, the groups that tend to use cash the most (people from lower socioeconomic classes, seniors, and teenagers) seem to be fast food's biggest customers.

Perhaps this is an excuse to get rid of problem patrons and attract a more sophisticated clientele.

Someone who lives near one, please report back and let us know how this goes, because I'm curious.

Fabulous Chicago style hot dogs, sandwiches and burgers. Everyone I've met from Chicago can name one hole-in-the-wall that they like better, but they always say that Portillo's is a good representation of Chicago local food. Because they have such a variety under one roof they bring in big business even in Chicago; if a group can't decide between burgers, Italian beef sandwiches, sausages, hot dogs or even salads you can get it all under one roof at Portillo's. My last boss from Chicago would always find an excuse to hold meetings in Buena Park so he could take us all to Portillo's for lunch.

They only have two Southern California locations right now, Buena Park and Moreno Valley. Neither are in safe neighborhoods. They are very busy restaurants with In-N-Out level lines inside and out during lunch and dinner rushes. They seat at least 200 inside and another hundred or so on the patio in Buena Park. Wildly detailed and elaborate decoration and theming, on a level possibly comparable to the best of a Disney theme park. The food is fantastic, big filling portions and reasonable prices. Pricing is around $10-$12/person for a combo but can be run up closer to $20 if you order a shake, beer, or dessert. Love their Maxwell Street Polish sausage with grilled onions as well as the Italian Beef sandwich dipped in au jus with a side of fries with homemade cheese sauce. This place can ruin the best of diets in one trip. When they did their IPO their financials came out and each restaurant was somewhere in the neighborhood of the sales volume of 3 or 4 McDonald's.

Here's the piece of the story that is missing: Portillo's operates similar to In-N-Out with multiple order takers outside working the drive thru lines. They used to radio in the orders now they use tablets. But the order taker in line would take cash and issue change, they even had the fanny pack of bills and belt mounted coin dispenser made famous at Wendy's many years ago. That person outside is a sitting duck for a robber. Now that they can accept the credit cards in line and so few people pay cash there is no reason to take cash in an unsecured outdoor environment. I'm sure any customer who accidentally gets in line can be handled (they could take their order, tell them to drive past the window and go inside to pay and pick up so they don't have to wait twice). And any lost sales will be mitigated by a faster moving drive through line; the line is as long and as slow moving as In-N-Out. Expect a 30-40 minute wait in your car at dinnertime. Due to lack of preservatives the food is best eaten immediately; maybe the hot dog can survive a trip home but the rest will deteriorate quickly if not eaten hot and fresh. They are expanding rapidly into Texas right now and they are going to add hundreds of units over the next decade. Smart business strategy: they sell Italian beef sandwich kits online for national delivery. So when they find an area that gets a lot of orders... That's where they will build a restaurant. Built in audience when they open.

[Romr123]

Well-described! Delightful place, just hugely busy in the away-from-Chicago locations.

[ClownLoach]

Well-described! Delightful place, just hugely busy in the away-from-Chicago locations.

I think I might head up the freeway for some Portillo's for lunch! Realized it's been too long since I've been there!

[storewanderer]

Every Portillo's I've ever been to has been very busy, with the exception of the one in Moreno Valley. The couple of times I went to it, during dinner, it was not busy at all. I am not entirely sure why they opened a location in Moreno Valley. I probably never would have gone to Moreno Valley multiple times had it not been there, so there is that.

I am curious how high Portillo's average unit volume is, my guess is they have some of the highest volume units in fast food, though I've never seen them mentioned for that in any trade publications.

The thing that impresses me most about Portillo's is these CA (and AZ) units are EXACTLY like the ones in Chicago. The service (speed), atmosphere, and most importantly food, are literally identical. They really do a great job. Tight operation and they have a lot of labor but those employees are expected to be (and are) very efficient. Their units run like a well oiled machine. I think they run just as good as an In N Out.

Portillo's did an IPO in 2021 and wants to grow to 600 units soon, and has some new concepts including a small concept, wants to start franchising, and some other initiatives that make me nervous what may happen to the chain in the future.

[ClownLoach]

Every Portillo's I've ever been to has been very busy, with the exception of the one in Moreno Valley. The couple of times I went to it, during dinner, it was not busy at all. I am not entirely sure why they opened a location in Moreno Valley. I probably never would have gone to Moreno Valley multiple times had it not been there, so there is that.

I am curious how high Portillo's average unit volume is, my guess is they have some of the highest volume units in fast food, though I've never seen them mentioned for that in any trade publications.

The thing that impresses me most about Portillo's is these CA (and AZ) units are EXACTLY like the ones in Chicago. The service (speed), atmosphere, and most importantly food, are literally identical. They really do a great job. Tight operation and they have a lot of labor but those employees are expected to be (and are) very efficient. Their units run like a well oiled machine. I think they run just as good as an In N Out.

Portillo's did an IPO in 2021 and wants to grow to 600 units soon, and has some new concepts including a small concept, wants to start franchising, and some other initiatives that make me nervous what may happen to the chain in the future.

I've only been to Moreno Valley twice and both times it was busier than Buena Park with a snaking queue line of cars 40 deep. I generally avoid that area so really not sure if it has weird traffic patterns or what. The parking lot was in rough shape, homeless people on the outside perimeter and just not a safe feeling there. Moreno Valley was supposed to be the next big thing but turned out to be a community of low paying warehouse jobs, homelessness and high crime. Not sure what went so wrong there when there are many very nice cities within a short drive.

I am not sure if I would be concerned about a smaller restaurant. They said recently that they had engineers come in and rework their kitchens to reduce footsteps and improve their efficiency. When the work was done the entire kitchen was reduced by 20 feet in length. A footstep is a foot and takes a second, so effectively this new kitchen is going to get food out around 20 seconds faster than before with no impact to quality and they're going to remodel the kitchens chain wide. It seems like they were a company that is comfortable doing things the same way they always did, but they're realizing that their growth opportunities are going to be limited by the size requirements of their current facilities. The kitchen and smaller restaurant ideas should work well. If they can get their size requirements down to the point where their restaurant can replace the dinner house chains that keep closing all over the country then they'll be primed for growth. But right now I don't see how they can fit into many fully developed areas of Southern California for example and pay the rent. For some reason I don't see them doing well on their own lot without a major shopping center to bring in traffic.

Franchising is a whole other story, but I would imagine that they would try it out and see quickly that it does not work in such a complicated operation. They are better off financing expansions directly versus seeking franchise partners to fund new locations.

[Bagels]

I've only been to Moreno Valley twice and both times it was busier than Buena Park with a snaking queue line of cars 40 deep. I generally avoid that area so really not sure if it has weird traffic patterns or what. The parking lot was in rough shape, homeless people on the outside perimeter and just not a safe feeling there. Moreno Valley was supposed to be the next big thing but turned out to be a community of low paying warehouse jobs, homelessness and high crime. Not sure what went so wrong there when there are many very nice cities within a short drive.

I am not sure if I would be concerned about a smaller restaurant. They said recently that they had engineers come in and rework their kitchens to reduce footsteps and improve their efficiency. When the work was done the entire kitchen was reduced by 20 feet in length. A footstep is a foot and takes a second, so effectively this new kitchen is going to get food out around 20 seconds faster than before with no impact to quality and they're going to remodel the kitchens chain wide. It seems like they were a company that is comfortable doing things the same way they always did, but they're realizing that their growth opportunities are going to be limited by the size requirements of their current facilities. The kitchen and smaller restaurant ideas should work well. If they can get their size requirements down to the point where their restaurant can replace the dinner house chains that keep closing all over the country then they'll be primed for growth. But right now I don't see how they can fit into many fully developed areas of Southern California for example and pay the rent. For some reason I don't see them doing well on their own lot without a major shopping center to bring in traffic.

Franchising is a whole other story, but I would imagine that they would try it out and see quickly that it does not work in such a complicated operation. They are better off financing expansions directly versus seeking franchise partners to fund new locations.

When Buena Park opened in 2005, Portillo's claimed that Southern California could emerge as its largest market. Only Moreno Valley has opened since (a few years later).

Raising Cane's has built ~40 locations from the ground up in LA/OC over the past 5+ years. Not sure I'm buying that Portillo's couldn't have done the same.

[storewanderer]

I've only been to Moreno Valley twice and both times it was busier than Buena Park with a snaking queue line of cars 40 deep. I generally avoid that area so really not sure if it has weird traffic patterns or what. The parking lot was in rough shape, homeless people on the outside perimeter and just not a safe feeling there. Moreno Valley was supposed to be the next big thing but turned out to be a community of low paying warehouse jobs, homelessness and high crime. Not sure what went so wrong there when there are many very nice cities within a short drive.

I am not sure if I would be concerned about a smaller restaurant. They said recently that they had engineers come in and rework their kitchens to reduce footsteps and improve their efficiency. When the work was done the entire kitchen was reduced by 20 feet in length. A footstep is a foot and takes a second, so effectively this new kitchen is going to get food out around 20 seconds faster than before with no impact to quality and they're going to remodel the kitchens chain wide. It seems like they were a company that is comfortable doing things the same way they always did, but they're realizing that their growth opportunities are going to be limited by the size requirements of their current facilities. The kitchen and smaller restaurant ideas should work well. If they can get their size requirements down to the point where their restaurant can replace the dinner house chains that keep closing all over the country then they'll be primed for growth. But right now I don't see how they can fit into many fully developed areas of Southern California for example and pay the rent. For some reason I don't see them doing well on their own lot without a major shopping center to bring in traffic.

Franchising is a whole other story, but I would imagine that they would try it out and see quickly that it does not work in such a complicated operation. They are better off financing expansions directly versus seeking franchise partners to fund new locations.

That long assembly line at Portillos between the cashier and the pick up area, I always wondered why it was so long. I assumed it was so long due to the volume. In Chicago locations it felt like that entire line was lined with 8+ employees. The CA and AZ locations aren't staffed THAT heavily but still multiple employees on that line.



I think two of my visits to Moreno Valley may have been in the middle of the day. I remember the first time going there it only had 5-10 employees total in the place and there were only a couple other customers inside eating at tables and I was thinking wow what is this and why is business so slow? It didn't deter me since I had been to Portillo's in IL and of course the food was great as expected and price was also reasonable. My order was basically ready immediately after I paid and walked down to the pick up area. This was back when they wrote the order on a paper bag and sent that down the line then took your payment, so they had a bit of a head start on getting the order ready before you left the register.

One of the problems I saw with the design flow with regards to the pick up area at Portillos was they sort of had to accumulate parts of the order from too many different directions. But every time I've ever been in one the employees were working really efficiently like an octopus getting everything put together with great speed. The drinks from one direction, fries from one direction, burgers from one direction, hot dogs from another direction. Add in shakes or desserts and yet another direction to pick things from.

Assembly line or lack thereof can really mess up a fast food place. Take this 2017 build Steak N Shake in Reno: the "grill" is at the front of the kitchen closest to the dining area. Fully visible. So the burger/bun/cheese starts at the grill. Then once that part of the burger is done it is handed across the floor and halfway into the back of the building to a preparation area adjacent to the drive through where I guess it gets vegetables put onto it and then is wrapped (can't see this part from inside too well), the fryer is across from that preparation bar. Then it is either handed out right there at drive through or it is taken, bagged, and put on a shelf that is even further into the back of the location for delivery out into the dining area/front counter (so that employee has to walk the 5-10 steps back to that shelf, then walk another 15 steps back out to the counter to hand it off). I find this location really struggles to consolidate orders efficiently. Luckily it usually has almost no customers so everything is fine despite these flaws. The other night it was for some reason very busy, and to make matters worse the screen above the grill was broken so the cook was periodically getting stacks of 3-4 receipts from the drive through person or the front counter person then making the burgers based on the receipts, and it was a total fiasco.