Restaurant Updates: Freddy’s, KBP/Sonic and Portillo’s

* Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers (Wichita, Kansas) has unveiled plans to add restaurants in Canada’s Ontario and British Columbia provinces. Target cities include Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Victoria. The fast-casual brand opened its first Canadian locales last year, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Okotoks, Alberta. In addition to its Canadian sites, the brand has about 580 eateries in the U.S.

* KBP Brands has acquired 78 company-owned locales from Sonic Drive-In (Oklahoma City) for an undisclosed price, giving it a total of 164 restaurants bearing that brand. The locales, in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, make KBP Sonic’s fourth-largest franchisee. (The firm also operates restaurants under the KFC, Taco Bell, and Arby’s flags). Overall, Sonic has about 3400 locations in 47 states.

* Portillo’s (Oak Brook, Ill.) plans to open eight new restaurants this year, the same number as it did last year. The purveyor of Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs and char-grilled burgers currently has 104 restaurants. Related note: on Feb. 23, veteran restaurant industry executive Brett Patterson took over as Portillo’s President and CEO.