Little Caesars is the third largest pizza chain in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza. The Little Caesars headquarters is located in the Fox Theatre building in Downtown Detroit, Michigan.

History

Little Caesars Pizza was founded on May 8, 1959 by Detroit Tigers farm team shortstop Mike Ilitch (1929-) and his wife (since 1955) Marian Ilitch (1933-). The first location was in a strip mall in Garden City, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Mike wanted to call it simply "Pizza Treat," but Marian wanted a name that would be more suitable. Marian considered Mike her "little Caesar". Mike ultimately relented, and the store opened as "Little Caesar's Pizza Treat." The original store is still open today.

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). In addition to pizza, they served hot dogs, chicken, shrimp, and fish. Little Caesars has discarded the unwieldy packaging in favor of typical pizza boxes.