Overview
Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multinational pizza chain. Based on 2020 statistics, Little Caesars is the third largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza. It operates and franchises pizza restaurants in the United States and internationally in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The company was founded in 1959 and is based in Detroit, Michigan, headquartered in a newly-built annex of the Fox Theatre building in Downtown Detroit. Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. is owned by Ilitch Holdings, which also owns the Detroit Tigers, who play across the street at Comerica Park, and the Detroit Red Wings, nearby at Little Caesars Arena.
History
Little Caesars Pizza was founded on May 8, 1959, by the married couple Mike Ilitch and 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, relocating down the street to a new building in nearby Westland.
The first Little Caesar's franchise location opened in 1962 in Warren, Michigan and was still called Little Caesar's Pizza Treat. The same year the Little Caesar's logo became a 3D figure and was used in outdoor signage.
The company is well known 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. Initially, the pizzas were served in a single long package (a piece of corrugated cardboard in 2-by-1 proportions, with two pizzas placed side by side, then slid into a form-fitting paper sleeve that was folded and stapled closed). In 1988, they 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. Little Caesars has since discarded the unwieldy packaging in favor of typical pizza boxes. In addition to pizza with "exotic" toppings, they served hot dogs, chicken, shrimp, and fish.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).