Little Caesars

Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is the third-largest pizza chain in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza.[3] It operates and franchises pizza restaurants in the United States and internationally in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The company was founded in 1959 and is based in Detroit, Michigan, headquartered in the Fox Theatre building in Downtown Detroit.[4] Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.[5]

This article is about the pizzeria chain with the slogan "Pizza! Pizza!". For the Canadian pizzeria chain, see Pizza Pizza. For other uses, see Little Caesar (disambiguation).
Little Caesar Enterprises Inc.
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedMay 8, 1959 (1959-05-08)
Garden City, Michigan, US
FoundersMike Ilitch
Marian Ilitch
Headquarters2211 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan, US
Number of locations
5,463 (2017)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
David Scrivano (President and CEO)[1]
Ed Gleich[2] (CIO)
ProductsPizza, Chicken Wings, Crazy Bread
OwnersIlitch Holdings
Websitelittlecaesars.com

History

Little Caesars Pizza was founded on May 8, 1959, by Mike Ilitch and his wife Marian Ilitch. The first location was in a strip mall in Garden City, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, and named "Little Caesar's Pizza Treat". The original store closed in October 2018.[6][7]

The company is famous for its advertising catchphrase "Pizza! Pizza!", which was introduced in 1979. The phrase refers to two pizzas being offered for the comparable price of a single pizza from competitors. Originally, the pizzas were served in a single long package (a piece of corrugated cardboard in 2-by-1 proportions, with two square pizzas, placed side by side, then slid into a form-fitting paper sleeve that was folded and stapled closed). Little Caesars has since discarded the unwieldy packaging in favor of typical pizza boxes. In addition to pizza with "exotic"[8] toppings, they served hot dogs, chicken, shrimp, and fish.

In 1998, Little Caesars filled what was then the largest pizza order, filling an order of 13,386 pizzas from the VF Corporation of Greensboro, North Carolina.[9]

Starting in 1997, the chain introduced shaker boards to advertise the "Hot-N-Ready", a large pepperoni pizza sold for $5. The concept was successful enough to become a permanent fixture of the chain, and Little Caesars' business model has shifted to focus more on carryout.[10]

Little Caesars was among the first to use a new kind of speed-cooking conveyor oven, the "Rotary Air Impingement Oven".[11]

On December 10, 2014, Little Caesars announced plans for a new eight-story, 205,000-square-foot Global Resource Center to be built at Woodward Avenue and Columbia Street in downtown Detroit. Intended to double the size of Little Caesars World Headquarters Campus, the new building's location was chosen near the Fox Office Center building, which houses both the Fox Theatre, and 186,000 square feet of office space for Little Caesars, and other Ilitch-affiliated ventures. An overhead pedestrian bridge over Columbia Street was planned to connect the Fox with the new Little Caesars Global Resource Center, and workspace for an additional 600 jobs to be brought to Detroit over time.[12][13] On January 31, 2016, it was announced that the proposed new Little Caesars Pizza Global Resource Center had grown by one floor to be a nine-story building at Woodward and Columbia Street.[14] The building was scheduled to be completed in 2018, but in October of that year, was pushed back due to construction delays.[15]

In 2017, to coincide with the opening of Little Caesars Arena, the company launched a slightly updated logo, which removed Caesar's chest hair, updated the wreath, and updated the toga to have hidden letters spelling "LC" for "Little Caesars". The company also started using the updated Caesar in its advertising, replacing the more cartoonish Caesar that had been used in ads since the 1980s.[16]

Corporate

Ilitch Holdings, Inc. manages professional services to companies owned by Marian Ilitch. These include the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (whose NHL arena, as of 2017, is named for the pizza chain), the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Little Caesars Pizza Kits, Champion Foods, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Uptown Entertainment, the Hockeytown Cafe (also the site of City Theater), and the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit.[17]

Trademark

While Little Caesars owns the "Pizza! Pizza!" trademark in the U.S., the unaffiliated Canadian Pizza Pizza restaurant chain (founded in Toronto in 1967, twelve years before Little Caesars began using its trademarked version in the United States) owns the Canadian trademark.[18] As a result, Little Caesars cannot directly use the slogan in Canada, due to a copyright claim by JAD Productions Corporation. Instead, the company has used "Two Pizzas!" along with "Delivery! Delivery!", "Quality! Quality!" or other such double-word tag lines in its advertising and packaging in Canada. They have used "Hot 'N Ready!" in their TV commercials for their "Hot 'N Ready" pizzas.

Franchising
Franchise in Marquette, Michigan
A Little Caesars in Gillette, Wyoming

Little Caesars sold its first franchise in 1962 and, by 1987, had restaurants in all 50 states.[19] Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Little Caesars were commonly found in Kmart stores, more specifically in Big Kmarts and Super Kmarts. The first Kmart and the first Little Caesars were both built-in Garden City, Michigan. After Kmart's bankruptcy issues, some of today's Kmarts have replaced the Little Caesars with their own branded "K-Cafe". However, several Little Caesars remain. Little Caesars pizza was also included in many remodeled Kmart locations.

Between 2008 and 2015, Little Caesars was the fastest-growing pizza chain in the United States.[20] As of 2017, the company has 5,463 locations including U.S. and international units.[21]

Former Little Caesars Pizza Station in Brno, Czech Republic

International growth

By 1987,[22] the company was operating across the Northern United States, purchasing the Mother's Pizza chain out of receivership in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom in 1989.[23] As of 2020, the company is present in Canada (some Canadian cities had locations since 1969), Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Guatemala, Barbados, Bahamas, Saudi Arabia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Bahrain, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Singapore, and India.[24][25][26]

The Little Caesars brand in the Philippines was present since the 1990s but gradually closed down in the 2000s. It reentered the market 25 January 2019, with its launching under a new franchisee and new branch in Ermita, Manila.[27][28] In 2019, Little Caesars restaurants in Australia closed their doors and went into administration.[29]

Little Caesars entered the Indian market on January 29, 2020, opening two stores in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.[30][31]

Products

Little Caesars produces a variety of pizzas. Several core menu items are part of the HOT-N-READY menu, designed to make popular items available for immediate carry-out, while others are considered either specialty pizzas or custom pizzas. In 2013, they added the Deep!Deep! Dish Pizza, a Detroit-style pizza, to the menu. Select locations also offer salads.

Additional entrée options include flavored "Caesar Wings" and bread, such as Crazy Bread and Italian Cheese Bread.[32] Select locations offer salads. All Little Caesars locations carry Pepsi products.[33]

In 1996, it introduced Pizza by the Foot, which was a 3-foot long, rectangular pizza. The product has since been discontinued.[34]

On occasion, Little Caesars releases limited time offers. In 2014, it introduced the Soft Pretzel Crust Pizza,[35] and in 2015, the "Bacon Wrapped Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza."[36]

In May 2019, Little Caesars began testing a pizza with meatless sausage made by Impossible Foods.[37]

In June 2020, Little Caesars introduced stuffed crazy bread.[38]

Community outreach

Love Kitchen

The Little Caesars Love Kitchen is a kitchen on wheels that serves pizza to those in need. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush recognized the Love Kitchen by awarding Little Caesars with The President's Volunteer Action Award Citation.[39]

Veterans Program

In 2006, Little Caesars started its Veterans Program, which provides incentives to honorably discharged veterans looking to open their own business when transitioning back to civilian life or seeking a career change. Mike Ilitch was inspired to start the program after hearing a story about a veteran, who lost both legs in the war, returning to civilian life.

See also

References
  1. "Hail pizza! Little Caesars HQ unveils homage to its own". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  2. "Little Caesars Promotes Ed Gleich to Chief Innovation Officer". Hospitality Technology. March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  3. "The 2015 Pizza Power Report". PMQ Pizza Magazine. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  4. "Franchise Opportunities". (Archive) Little Caesars. 5/5. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  5. "Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  6. Clarke, Rod Meloni, Kayla. "Original Little Caesars pizza shop location closing". www.clickondetroit.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  7. "Rubin: At the original Caesars, life and pizza go on". Detroit News. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  8. Wilcox, Mike (September 27, 1979). "Tasters Disagree Pizza Test Proves No One is Best pg.26". The Reminder. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  9. Inc., Fanpop. "Little Caesars Article: Miscellaneous Facts About Little Caesars". www.fanpop.com. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  10. Skid, Nathan (April 27, 2009). "Hot-N-Steady: Renewed focus on value keeps Little Caesars cooking at age 50". Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  11. "Patent US5676044 - Rotary air impingement oven - Google Patents". Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  12. "Little Caesars Pizza Doubles Down on Detroit". Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  13. "Little Caesars to build 8-story downtown HQ next to Fox".
  14. "Area around new Red Wings arena teems with planned projects".
  15. "Those pizza-slice windows may be delaying Little Caesars HQ opening". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  16. "Hidden Image In Little Caesars Logo That You Won't Be Able To Unsee". October 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  17. "Ilitch Holdings, Inc". Archived from the original on 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2006-01-23.
  18. "8 Hot-N-Ready Facts About Little Caesars". mentalfloss.com. 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  19. "Milestones | Little Caesars | Australia". www.little-caesars.com.au. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  20. "Pizza Franchise Opportunities". Little Caesars' official webpage. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  21. "Little Caesars Franchise Information". www.franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  22. "LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA ANNOUNCES 700 NEW INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANTS". Prnewswire.co.uk. 1999-12-09. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  23. MacLeod, Meredith (2 February 2013). "Mother's Pizza rising again in east Hamilton". The Spectator. Hamilton ON. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  24. "Little Caesars Pizza International". www.littlecaesarsinternational.com.
  25. "Chile: Little Caesars continúa su expansión en América Latina". 30 June 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  26. "Peru: Little Caesars: "Esta vez regresamos para quedarnos"". 18 December 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  27. "Remember Little Caesars pizza? It's returning to PH". ABS-CBN News. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  28. "American pizza chain Little Caesars is making a comeback in the Philippines next year". Coconuts Manila. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  29. Hall, Nick (2 January 2020). "Little Caesars Australia collapses under debt mountain". Inside Franchise Business. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  30. Umarji, Vinay (27 January 2020). "Little Caesars Pizza enters India with two stores, eyes 10 more by 2020-end". Business Standard India. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  31. "Little Caesars Pizza forays into India". ET BrandEquity. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  32. "Little Caesars Pizza - Pizza Franchise Opportunities Available". www.littlecaesars.com. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  33. "Free 2-Liter Promotion 2018". Little Caesars. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  34. "Thread: Little Caesars' Big New Idea: Pizza by the Foot (1996)". Ad Age. October 28, 1996. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  35. "Little Caesars is bringing back pretzel crust pizza". WXYZ. January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  36. "Little Caesars' Bacon-Wrapped Crust is the Crust to End All Crusts". Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  37. Wiener-Bronner, Danielle. "Little Caesars is testing out an Impossible pizza". CNN. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  38. https://www.brandeating.com/2020/06/little-caesars-bakes-new-stuffed-crazy-bread.html
  39. "Little Caesars Pizza > Giving Back > Love Kitchen". littlecaesars.com. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
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