History of Little Caesar's Pizza

Little Caesar's Pizza is probably best known for its "Pizza, Pizza" marketing campaign. The restaurant has been around for more than 50 years but saw some of its strongest growth during a 15-year period from the mid 1970s through the early 1990s. Little Caesar's remains a popular restaurant chain throughout North America and, to a lesser extent, in Great Britain.

Origin

Michael and Marian Ilitch were the two individuals who started the Little Caesar's Pizza chain in 1959. The first restaurant was located in Garden City, Michigan. Little Caesar's Pizza grew steadily in its first decade in the Michigan area. By the end of the 1960s there were 50 different locations, and there was even one located in Canada.

Early Menu

During the first decade Little Caesar's offered a variety of food. Along with pizza, the restaurant offered another Italian favorite, spaghetti. These were paired with french fries and fried chicken offerings as well. The early years featured both carry out and delivery pizza, but in 1971, Little Caesar's Pizza discontinued its delivery service.

The 1970s Marketing Expansion

Little Caeser's started what would be known as its marketing phrase with the "Pizza, Pizza" advertisements in the 1970s. This campaign advertised two pizzas for one price, and Little Caesar's has stuck with that approach ever since. In 1977, Little Caesar's made it convenient for people to drive up to the restaurant and pick up a pizza at its service windows. Then, in 1979, Little Caesar's sped up the pizza production process by manufacturing a conveyor oven for its pizza and other menu items that were baked.

The 1980s Featured Rapid Expansion

In 1980, there were 226 Little Caesar's restaurants with annual sales of $63.6 million. Expansion became rapid thanks to the success of the pizza chain's 1970s marketing campaign and the low overhead its small restaurants had, based on the carry-out-only philosophy. In 1984, the 500th Little Caesar's Pizza restaurant was built; that total doubled to 1,000 by 1986. By that point, annual sales had increased to $340 million.

1990s: Strong Start, Then A Slowdown

The 1990s started off strong for Little Caesar's, as its annual sales increased to $1.7 billion. Business remained strong until the middle of the decade. At that time, Little Caesar's experimented with delivery again and opened stores in Kmarts. Both of these operations met with only minor to moderate success. Competition started to increase as well, as Papa John's pizza was increasing significantly in popularity. Little Caesar's pizza remained popular through the 1990s and beyond, but with the increased level of competition, its rapid increase in sales reduced.