Little Caesars was founded by Mike Ilitch, and it was a huge risk. He and his wife, Marian, spent their entire life savings opening the doors to their pizza place on May 8, 1959, and that original location on Cherry Hill Road in Garden City, Michigan, is still there and still serving customers.
What’s unique about Little Caesar’s pizza is that they use only natural ingredients like high-gluten flour pizza dough, grade A cheese and specially grown California tomatoes. They also pride itself of their use of all-natural spices compared to the synthetic flavorings which are used all over the pizza industry.
The company’s milestones:
1959 – Little Caesars Pizza was founded on May 8, 1959, by Mike Ilitch and his wife Marian Ilitch.
1962 – The first Little Caesar’s franchise location opened in 1962 in Warren, Michigan, and at the time was still called Little Caesar’s Pizza Treat.
1971 – During that decade, delivery was a service of most Little Caesars restaurants, but in 1971 the chain moved to carryout only.
1975 – The now-famous “Pizza! Pizza! Two Great Pizzas! One Low Price!” slogan became a permanent part of Little Caesars’ marketing campaigns.
1984 – The company built its 500th restaurant, then saw the 1,000th Little Caesars just two years later.
1987 – 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.
1988 – The company’s TV advertising begins nationwide.
1989 – Little Caesar moved its corporate headquarters to the Fox Office Centre.
1996 – Little Caesar introduced Pizza by the Foot, which was a three-foot-long rectangular pizza. The product has since been discontinued; however, its equivalent Pizza by the Meter has been sold in the Saudi Arabian market since the 90s and is a very popular product.
1997 – The chain introduced shaker boards to advertise their “Hot-N-Ready Pizza”, 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.
1998 – Little Caesar introduced a square deep-dish pizza called “Pan! Pan!”. Customers could purchase the “Pan! Pan!” pizzas as part of the 2-for-1 deal, or mix and match with one pan pizza and one original round pizza
1995 – It was a decent year for Little Caesar, with the introduction of the enormously popular stuffed crust pizza and revenues of over 2.1 billion.
2006 – Little Caesars started its Veterans Program, which provides incentives to honorably discharged veterans looking to open their own businesses when transitioning back to civilian life or seeking a career change.
2014 – The chain introduced the Soft Pretzel Crust Pizza.
2015 – The chain introduced “Bacon Wrapped Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza.”
May 2019 – Little Caesars began testing a pizza with meatless sausage made by Impossible Foods.
According to en.wikipedia.org; zippia.com. Source of photos: internet
