A brand that knows their audience very well is the Chicago-based fast food chain Portillo's Hot Dogs. Portillo's is a staple of Chicago serving hot dogs, Italian beefs, chocolate cake and milkshakes since 1963. Initially starting out in a small hot dog stand by founder Dick Portillo, they have since grown to 60 locations in Illinois, Arizona, California, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan.
One thing that makes Portillo's very unique is how well they know their audience. Portillo's doesn't hide the fact that they were founded in Chicago, and if you have ever been to one of their restaurants or follow them on social media you would know this. This is very prevalent on social media that they cater to people from Chicago or have strong Chicago ties. Going through their twitter you can see a tweet from just this last week that shows this. Recently NFL star JJ Watt announced on his twitter that he and the Houston Texans were parting ways. Portillo's twitter account was quick to jump on this and quote retweet his tweet announcing this saying "How many Italian beef sandwiches do you think it will take @JJWatt to come play for the @ChicagoBears?"
Despite Portillo's expanding into multiple different cities in several different states Chicago holds true to their Chicago roots. They know their base audience will always remain Chicagoans and people with strong ties to the city. Expanding to different brands is important for the business to grow but maintaining their most important audience is what will keep them going in the long-run.
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