COVER STORY

THE DICK PORTILLO STORY: MY WAY

BY LARRY ATSEFF

Dick Portillo has met a lot of famous people during his 80 years. One he never met is Frank Sinatra. Frank’s gone, but one of his most memorable songs is “MY WAY”. Opening lyrics include these words: “My friend, I’ll make it clear

I’ll state my case of which I am certain I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway And more, much more I did it, I did it my way Regrets, I've had a few But then again, too few to mention I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption I planned each charted course Each careful step along the byway And more, much, much more I did it, I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew And through it all, whenever there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out I faced it all and I stood tall And did it, did it my way I've loved, laughed and cried I had my fill, my share of losing And now, as tears subside I find that it's all so amusing And to think I did all that And may I say not in a shy way No, no, not me I did it my way

For what is a man, what has he got If not himself, then he has naught

Not to say the things that he truly feels

And not the words of someone who kneels

The record shows I took all the blows And did it my way”

Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Claude Francois / Gilles Thibaut / Jacques Revaux / Paul Anka My Way lyrics © Warner Chappell Music France, Jeune Musique Editions, BMG Rights Management, Suisa, Concord Music Publishing LLC, CONSALAD CO., Ltd

Those words sum up Dick Portillo and how he has succeeded beyond his most ambitious dreams. When you read his book, “Out of the Dog House”, or talk to him in person about his success, like we did, you will find out that he not only has lived the American Dream, he tells Continued on next page

you how he did it, from an $1100 investment in a hot dog stand in 1963 to selling his business in 2014 which left him a very wealthy man.

It is an easy, entertaining, streamof-consciousness read, just like he was sitting there with you, just talking, and giving you specific, very personal, real-life history. It is full of practical examples of how hard work, seeing obvious needs and filling them better than the other guy, will always be a great recipe for success. In the end, it is an entrepreneur’s handbook.

Chapter headings, in this order, take you on your way.

Dick uses the first chapter, “Humble Beginnings”, as an appetizer. It is an overview of his life, from being the son of poor, immigrant parents to where he is today. His father had Mexican, Spanish and French heritage and immigrated from Mexico. His mother came from Greece.

It sets the stage…and you want to read more to know how it happened.

Next, “Family Struggles” details how he spent a lot of his youth in Chicago Public Housing; how he fondly remembers his sister and brother. He remembers the scrimping and saving. He remembers how his father taught him discipline with spankings and how he learned to take responsibility for your actions, but this was nothing compared to the next chapter: “Life in the Marines”. It was there that he saw how when you are focused and you train and train, a bunch of rag tag guys can become a single powerful unit. As he puts it, “I learned the value of training to teach teamwork, discipline and organization.”

“Moving Back to Chicago” tells what is what like, after the Marines, to come back to Chicago and marry his high-school sweetheart, Sharon, and the many part-time jobs he was taking, trying to find his way. “A Mother-in-law’s approval”, tells how his mother-in-law to convinced her daughter Sharon to let Dick spend $1100 on a trailer for a hot dog stand, instead of saving for a house.

“Time to expand”, details how, when and why he made the decision to add more restaurants. He tells the valuable lesson of not making a move until you are ready.

The “Building an Organization” chapter tells how he carefully added widely popular items (he personally loved) to the menu over several years, and combined them with

THE ORIGIONAL HOTDOG STAND

constant training so that quality in food, service, speed and efficiency could be profitable. And, very important, it would be extremely difficult for competition to copy. “That training to handle a complex menu was like a moat around my castle, to keep competition out.”

“From the time a customer hits the “Sacrifice” makes the front door, and senses the aromas point that you have to give up some things to and the hustle, to the time they leave, succeed, and there is no after enjoying a quality meal and fast way around it. The “What I learned from Failure” service at a reasonable price, I want chapter details what we all them to feel the ‘Portillo experience.” have heard: how failure can be a great teacher and — DICK PORTILLO that Dick has been no exception. In the chapter on the “The Roaring ‘80’s and 90’s”, Dick recalls the good times in Chicago with the Bears winning the Super Bowl and Michael Jordan and the Bulls. He said it was an exciting time for Portillo’s too, because he successfully expanded. As his number of restaurants grew, he saw that he could scale up the number

and maintain the quality he and his employees had worked so hard to perfect.

The chapter on “California Dreaming” is the story of his first restaurant outside of Chicago. It took him out of his comfort zone… but he knew it could be successful. That’s because his booming business of shipping Portillo’s all over the country to Chicagoans who had moved away showed him that his biggest sales were in zip code 90620, Buena Park, California. Another case of seeing the obvious and making the most of it.

“The importance of competition” chapter points out that you should never underestimate the competition and that if you are smart, you can also learn from them.

“Hello Arizona”, the chapter on his smashing opening in Scottsdale, was further proof that Portillo’s could be a national brand.

“The Pillars of Success” puts the focus on “Quality”, “Service”, “Attitude”, and “Cleanliness” which are the bedrocks of Portillo’s training. This chapter describes how his son has helped instill those principles throughout the company, and how important it is to hire people who believe in those principles. It is executing that training constantly that sets Portillo’s apart and creates what Dick calls the “Portillo experience”. “From the time a customer hits the front door, and senses the aromas and the hustle, to the time they leave, after enjoying a quality meal and fast service at a reasonable price, I want them to feel the ‘Portillo experience’”. “Gift or Curse” describes how his combination of great instincts with people, and a willingness to get out of his comfort zone, have been both a gift and a curse. He explains how he dealt with attention deficit syndromes by just being determined enough to overcome it, by using his skills of observation, and attention to detail, into coming up with better solutions to everyday problems… were very rewarding.

“Only in America” is a look back at the accomplishments and the people who helped him, and who; in turn, helped themselves become more successful, personally and professionally.

He describes the pros and cons of selling and the decision to choose Berkshire Partners, in “The Decision to Sell” in August 2014.

“Moving Forward” covers his life since the sale, and how he enjoys the fruits of his labor. He stays active in managing his own portfolio of real estate holdings.

All in all, Dick is content. After all, he has accomplished a great deal. He has an enormous legacy in terms of a restaurant chain that prides itself on the “Portillo experience”, that millions enjoy. He is also proud of the number of employees who have worked with him to create the experience.

There is one other legacy he would like to leave.

In honor of Sharon, who has been the love of his life and a pillar of strength for 62 years, but who is suffering from Type 1 Diabetes, he will continue to support the work of Dr. Jose Oberholzer, a distinguished doctor, who is coming ever closer to a cure that will help Sharon and 1.6 million others who have been diagnosed with Type 1. (Next to this article is an interview with the Doctor on what he is accomplishing.) ■

Hinsdale Magazine | Cover Story ype 1 Diabetes Researcher & Surgeon Dr. Josef Oberholzer

In our discussions with Dick Portillo and the success of his restaurant chain, we learned how important it was for Sharon, his childhood sweetheart and wife of 62 years, to be constantly by his side. We also learned that in 1997, it was discovered that she had Type 1 diabetes. In the course of treatment, they have learned the following: 1 Chicago is a leading center for the treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. 2 At the forefront in treating Type 1 diabetes is Doctor Jose Oberholzer. 3 The group he founded, the Chicago

Diabetes Project, is an international research collaboration that is focused on “islet transplantation”, a promising technique in dealing with Type 1. 4 In fact, islet transplantation has been effective in treating Sharon.

As a result, Dick has helped fund Dr. Oberholzer’s efforts, and wants more people to know about Oberholzer’s important work.

How Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes differ

Of 26.8 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes, about 1.6 million have Type 1.

Types 1 and 2 both cause high blood sugar and have insulin as the problem. Insulin is a hormone that unlocks cells to let in blood sugar, and that creates energy.

You can’t live without insulin. If you have Type 2, your body makes insulin, but can’t use it properly. If you have Type 1, your body doesn’t make enough of it. The pancreas stops making it, as the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, sugar builds up in the blood and can damage your internal organs, including your heart, kidneys, eyes, nervous system, and other parts of the body. Obviously, these conditions can become life-threatening.

Type 1 is extremely challenging, because, to this day, doctors are still not sure why the body doesn’t make enough insulin. While much of the medical community continues to try and determine the cause, techniques on controlling the disease with regular insulin injections or use of an insulin pump have become the prevalent treatments for Type 1.

The Chicago Diabetes Project and Dr. Oberholzer have put their focus on “islet transplantation” as a way to go further, and actually reverse Type 1 and enable the body to produce insulin naturally. Certain islet transplantation trials are showing that this approach is able to produce insulin naturally so well, some patients are actually living insulin-free.

Islets are clusters of cells found in the pancreas that work together to regulate blood sugar. In an islet transplant, doctors take healthy islets from the pancreas of an organ donor, and inject them into someone with Type 1 diabetes.

Now that islet transplantation is shown to work, scientists are looking for ways to make the technique more widely available, and at lower costs.

In one approach, scientists focus on the transplant site. While the liver is the traditional site for islet transplantation, this location is not ideal. Other sites and options are being looked at. For example, researchers are looking at a bio-engineered platform that works like an artificial pancreas.

Scientists are also looking for ways to sustain the islets’ long-term survival and protecting them from the autoimmune attacks that caused Type 1 diabetes in the first place. Options include creating barriers to protect the cells, or even adding oxygen to transplant sites.

Researchers are even investigating how to increase the supply of islets available for transplant, enabling the body to recreate a patient’s own pancreatic cells, so cells don’t have to be taken from a donor. This includes the use of lab created embryonic stem cells that, in turn, become islets for transplanting to a Type 1 diabetic.

Dr. Oberholzer and his associates are constantly looking at other ways to make islet transplantation more effective and widespread. For more information, go to chicagodiabetesproject.org. ■

BY LARRY ATSEFF